Abdallah Said
Summary
Human rights defender Abdallah Said, president of the "Children of the Moon" association in Medenine, was arrested on 12 November 2024 after being summoned and questioned without being informed of clear charges. His file was initially referred to the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Pole before being returned for lack of suspicion. A new investigation was then opened on charges relating to money laundering, embezzlement and attacking the external security of the state, and a decision committing him to prison was issued, while the other (female) defendants were not.
His pre-trial detention lasted more than a year and a half, with complaints of deprivation of medication, procedural delays and the suspension of his pension, in addition to a raid on the association's premises and the seizure of documents. On 3 February 2026 his request for release was rejected, and on 21 April 2026 the Medenine Court of First Instance sentenced him to one year in prison for breach of trust; the Public Prosecution appealed the judgment, and he remains in detention.
Personal Information
Name: Abdallah Said.
Status: President of the Children of the Moon association in Medenine.
Nationality: Tunisian.
Governorate: Medenine.
Charge: Breach of trust within the meaning of the first paragraph of Article 297 of the Penal Code.
Incidents of Violation
On 12 November 2024, Abdallah Said was summoned by telephone together with the secretary-general and the treasurer of the "Children of the Moon" association. All of them were questioned before being placed in police custody on the same day at the National Unit for the Investigation of Complex Crimes in El Gorjani, without being informed of the charges against them.
The file was later referred to the Public Prosecutor at the Medenine Court of First Instance, who considered that there were suspicions of a terrorist nature, which led to the case being referred to the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Pole on 17 November 2024. However, on 26 November 2024 the Pole decided that there was no terrorist suspicion and returned the file to the Public Prosecutor at the Medenine Court of First Instance.
Despite this fundamental development, which dropped the most serious criminal characterisation in the file, a judicial investigation was subsequently opened into charges relating to money laundering, embezzlement and attacking the external security of the state. Following this, a decision was issued committing Abdallah Said to prison, while the other defendants from the association were prosecuted at liberty and the secretary-general and the treasurer were released.
This prosecution comes in the context of the association's civil and humanitarian activities, particularly its care for "children of the moon", as well as its support for vulnerable groups, including refugees and migrants.
During his detention, Abdallah Said protested from inside the prison about his health situation, as he was not allowed to obtain his medication, and about what he considered to be procedural delaying of the file. His pension was also cut off, leaving his family in a precarious financial situation, especially given his detention. The association's premises were also searched and some documents seized from the date of his arrest.
His detention lasted more than a year and a half (562 days up to the pronouncement of the judgment). On 3 February 2026, the Medenine Court of First Instance decided to reject his request for release and to postpone the case to 21 April 2026, keeping him in pre-trial detention.
At the hearing of 21 April 2026, the Medenine Court of First Instance sentenced him to one year in prison on the charge of breach of trust within the meaning of Article 297 of the Penal Code, on the basis of a financial report contested by the defence team. On 22 April 2026, the Public Prosecution appealed the judgment against him, and Abdallah Said remains in detention after his request for release was rejected.
Human Rights Violations
Abdallah Said's rights were violated in a manner that constitutes a flagrant breach of human rights. These violations included holding him in police custody without a clear charge, in breach of the principle of the presumption of innocence, according to which the accused is innocent until proven guilty through a fair trial in which all guarantees are provided. This is enshrined in Article 33 of the 2022 Constitution, which states: "The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial in which all guarantees of defence are ensured during the stages of prosecution and trial."
This also constitutes a breach of Article 35 of the 2022 Tunisian Constitution, which provides that: "No person may be arrested or held in custody except in cases of flagrante delicto or by judicial decision, and must be immediately informed of their rights and of the charge against them, and has the right to be represented by a lawyer."
The prolonged pre-trial detention in this case, which exceeded 14 months without a final judgment and without any continuing justification of necessity, constitutes a departure from the exceptional nature of detention and transforms it into arbitrary detention, contrary to the constitutional and criminal-law guarantees that make detention a temporary and restricted measure.
This situation also contravenes the constitutional principle of the right to be tried within a reasonable time, enshrined in Article 37 of the 2022 Constitution, as well as the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which make pre-trial detention an exceptional measure linked to the needs of the investigation, subject to judicial oversight, which must not become a punishment in advance.
It also contravenes international standards, in particular Articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary detention and affirm the right to be tried without undue delay.
Preventing Abdallah Said from receiving his medication undermines his right to humane treatment, guaranteed by Article 36 of the Constitution, which provides that: "Every prisoner has the right to humane treatment that preserves their dignity... In executing custodial sentences, the State shall take into account the interests of the family...". This principle was breached in the case at hand, particularly with the family being deprived of his retirement pension.
Moreover, preventing him from obtaining the necessary medication constitutes a violation of his right to health care in detention, a right guaranteed internationally under the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), in particular Rules 24 to 26, which provide for every prisoner's right to enjoy appropriate and full health care.
In addition, the raid on the association's premises and the seizure of some documents constitute a violation of the right to property and the protection of possessions, a right guaranteed constitutionally under Article 30 of the Constitution, as well as under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, specifically Article 17.