Atef Hammami

Summary

Atef Hammami, a 46-year-old Tunisian citizen holding an intellectual disability card, died in hospital on 15 January 2026 after being committed to Mornaguia civil prison, amid a sharp deterioration in his physical and mental health and the appearance of multiple bodily injuries. The circumstances of his death, and the suspicions surrounding his detention regarding physical assaults and the failure to provide the necessary health care and protection, raise suspicions of violations of his fundamental rights, in particular the rights to life, physical integrity, health and humane treatment.

Personal Information

Name: Atef Hammami.

Age: 46.

Nationality: Tunisian.

Governorate: Ariana.

Status: Day labourer.

Date of death: 15 January 2026.

Nature of the violation: Suspicious death in prison.

Incidents of Violation

Atef Hammami was arrested on 28 December 2025 by the judicial police of Ariana Medina. The available information indicates that the record notifying him of his rights and legal guarantees upon arrest was not signed at all, which raises questions about his awareness of his rights and his capacity to understand at the time of arrest.

The victim of the violation was later committed to Mornaguia civil prison in a fragile psychological state. According to his family's testimony, Atef Hammami's lawyer, during her visit to him, observed on the basis of her direct examination of him before his committal that he showed no signs of violence at that time. The family also stated that he was not examined by a doctor upon his arrest despite his evident mental disorder. The information further indicates that the record notifying him of his rights and legal guarantees upon arrest was not signed by him, which raises questions about his awareness or capacity to understand at the time of arrest.

On 31 December 2025, during a visit, his family noticed bruises around his eye, and he was moving in a wheelchair. They also stated that he would hide his face and head with his hands because of a state of intense panic at the possibility of being beaten.

In early January 2026, according to the family's accounts, his physical and mental health deteriorated sharply, coinciding with the appearance of signs of violence on his body. The family stated that the prison administration only became aware of the seriousness of his condition after he lost the ability to walk and speak.

On 9 January 2026, his defence counsel filed a complaint requesting that his place of detention be changed to guarantee his physical safety and protect him from repeated assaults; however, according to the information received, this request was not granted.

During a second family visit, Atef Hammami was able to walk without the wheelchair, but the family observed a clear swelling of his hand. They also stated that he asked to be seen urgently by a doctor because he felt severe pain in one of his sides.

According to his family's testimony, the statements of security officers contained conflicting accounts of the source of the injuries, ranging from an assault by prisoners to his deliberately harming himself by banging his head against the wall. In contrast, his lawyer, according to testimony relayed by the victim's family, denied that he had been subjected to any violence during his detention prior to his committal to prison, affirming that he was in sound condition when she met him before his committal.

Atef Hammami's family stated that the initial medical report established fractures to the face and ribs, pulmonary haemorrhage and scattered blue bruises all over his body, in addition to puncture wounds in his fingers. The family considered that the nature of these injuries rules out the hypothesis that he was subjected to violence alone without the use of tools or weapons, and held the prison administration fully and directly responsible for the deterioration of his health that led to his death.

His family also stated that Razi Hospital refused to admit him even though he had previously been treated there, and that he was moved between several hospitals, including the Mongi Ben Hamida National Institute of Neurology in Tunis and the Hédi Raïs Institute of Ophthalmology, without receiving the necessary care, according to their account.

Three days before his death, Atef Hammami fell into a coma after being transferred to Charles Nicolle Hospital, where his family stated they were prevented from visiting him or learning about his health condition. Later, the treating doctor explained that he had been suffering from facial fractures and internal bleeding, and that he had suffered a cardiac arrest during the coma that preceded his death.

Atef Hammami died on 15 January 2026 at Charles Nicolle Hospital. On 16 January 2026, an investigation into his suspicious death was opened by the Tunis Medina National Security District, and the same unit took charge of it. On 17 January 2026, the judicial police officer authorised the burial of Atef Hammami on the same day, on the basis of a forensic medical certificate that identified the cause of death as cardiac arrest accompanied by multiple injuries suspected to have resulted from an assault.

Human Rights Violations

The death of Atef Hammami in detention engages the state's responsibility to protect the life and safety of persons deprived of their liberty, particularly in light of the information concerning his physical and mental health and the injuries that appeared on him during his detention. The Tunisian Constitution enshrines the right to life and prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and obliges the state to protect persons under its authority.

The information concerning the multiple bodily injuries, and the conflicting accounts of their source, indicate the need to determine the circumstances in which he sustained them and those responsible. The facts alone do not allow a definitive conclusion as to the source of the injuries or the party responsible, nor do they prove that the death was a direct result of an assault; however, they justify a serious suspicion requiring an effective and independent investigation into the circumstances of the death and the injuries that preceded it.

The information concerning the failure to take adequate measures to protect him, despite his defence counsel reporting that he was being repeatedly assaulted and requesting a change in his place of detention, also raises the question of a breach of the duty to protect a person in the custody of the state, particularly in view of his physical and psychological vulnerability.

The Nelson Mandela Rules affirm that the provision of health care for prisoners is a state responsibility and that prisoners are entitled to the same standards of health care that are available in the community, with particular attention to persons with special health-care needs. Rule 25 also requires the existence of health-care services capable of evaluating, promoting and protecting the physical and mental health of prisoners.

The facts also raise suspicions of a breach of the right to health care. Article 17 of Law No. 52 of 2001 on the prison system recognises the prisoner's right to free treatment and medication inside the prison and, where necessary, in hospitals, on the advice of the prison doctor. Decree No. 1876 of 1988 on the special regime of prisons also regulates the medical examination upon arrival at the prison, the treatment of sick prisoners within the prison establishment, and their transfer to hospital when they cannot be treated inside it.

Accordingly, the information concerning the failure to have the victim of the violation examined by a doctor upon his arrest despite his mental disorder, the delay in or failure to provide him with appropriate care, and his transfer between several health institutions, raise the question of whether his right to health care was respected, particularly in light of the deterioration of his condition and the appearance of multiple bodily injuries.

Furthermore, his physical and mental condition, according to the information received, required that his special health needs be taken into account. Tunisian law, under Law No. 83 of 1992 of 3 August 1992 on mental health and the conditions of hospitalisation due to mental disorders, provides for the possibility of compulsory hospitalisation when mental disorders are liable to endanger the safety of the person or of others, and also allows the judicial authority seized of a criminal case, on the advice of an expert doctor, to order a prisoner to be placed in a public health institution for medical observation and examination and an assessment of his mental capacities.

The information alone does not allow a definitive conclusion that the conditions for compulsory hospitalisation were legally met in Atef Hammami's case, but it raises the question of the extent to which his psychological and mental condition was taken into account in the management of his detention and his health care.

These facts also relate to the obligations arising from the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in particular the right to health enshrined in Article 25, which obliges states to provide health care to persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others and without discrimination on the basis of disability.

Article 15 of the Convention concerns protection from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and may be relied upon in assessing the treatment he was subjected to if the investigation establishes ill-treatment linked to his situation in detention.

Moreover, the right to life, guaranteed under Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, requires the state to protect the lives of persons in its custody. This obligation is not limited to refraining from killing but includes, in the context of detention, taking appropriate measures to protect the lives of detainees and providing them with the necessary health care.

The Nelson Mandela Rules affirm that health care for prisoners is a state responsibility and that prison health services must pay particular attention to mental health and special health needs, while Rule 27 provides for prisoners who require specialised treatment or surgery to be transferred to specialised institutions or to civil hospitals.

Investigating this death, given the nature of the injuries and the conflicting accounts of their source, requires determining how Atef Hammami sustained the injuries, which authorities were responsible for his protection and care during the period in question, the adequacy of the medical interventions he received, and whether there was a causal link between the injuries or shortcomings in health care and the deterioration of his condition and his death.

The facts also require clarification of the circumstances in which the investigation into the death was opened, and ensuring that the investigation is effective, independent and impartial and determines responsibilities where appropriate, so as to guarantee the right of the deceased's family to know the truth and to prevent the recurrence of such events.