Hssan Labidi

Summary

Hassan Labidi is a Tunisian citizen who works as a guard in an elementary school in Al-Mohamad, located in the Tajerouine delegation with the Kef governorate. He has been in prison for 3 months due to an 8-month-sentence for posting a video on his personal Facebook page that contained satirical caricatures criticizing the President of Tunisian, Kais Saied

Personal Information

Name: Hassan Labidi

Age: 47

Occupation: Elementary School Guard

Case: Committing an atrocious act against the President 

Incidents of Violation

On May 5, 2023, plainclothes police officers went to the residence of the victim of the violation, Hassan Labidi, to escort him to the National Guard Station in Tajerouine delegation. The victim’s family described the incident as frightening since he was arrested in front of his family and children without providing any explanation regarding the reasons for the arrest. It was later revealed that a complaint had been filed against him due to sharing a video that went viral on Facebook. The footage contained satirical images of the Actor Adel with an attached picture of President Kais Saied, presented mockingly to criticize the post-July 25, 2021, system and the president

After being interrogated and hearing his statements, Hassan remained in custody for 3 days, where he was presented before the public prosecutor on May 8, 2023, who decided to detain him in the civil prison in Kef. The following day, May 9, 2023, the Court of First Instance sentenced Hassan Labidi to 8 months on charges of committing an atrocious act against the President according to Article 67 of the Penal Code. In the appellate phase of the case, on June 16, 2023, the court maintained the same sentence and rejected any reduction despite Hassan being the sole provider for his 7-member family and his brother, who cannot work due to illness. Additionally, Hassan is at risk of losing his job if he exceeds 3 months of consecutive absence, according to Article 50 of the Public Labor Code, which stipulates, “An employee is granted a yearly unpaid leave for a period that does not exceed three months, and it does not count as effective service.” “In a country in which freedom of expression is guaranteed, my brother has been sentenced to 8 months because of expressing his opinion,” stated the victim’s brother, Mohammed Sadok Labidi, in a testimony to Intersection Association. He also demanded justice for his brother, who was serving 3 months in prison, and pleaded for his release

Human Rights Violation

The trial of the citizen Hassan Labidi is a severe violation of human rights. Trying individuals based on expressing their opinions contradicts the principles of human rights and transgresses international and local agreements, that stipulate respecting and guaranteeing the right to freedom of expression to all citizens. This right is entrenched under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which reads: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” On one hand, Tunisia is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is obliged to respect it. On the other hand, the right to freedom of expression is a constitutional right, as it is explicitly stated in Article 37, which stipulates that “Freedom of opinion, thought, expression, information, and publication is guaranteed. It is not permissible to exercise prior censorship over these freedoms”

Moreover, taking Hassan to the police station in front of his family is a violation of his right to a fair trial, as he did not receive a prior notice or was officially summoned. His presence during the initial questioning without a lawyer is also a breach of his rights. Therefore, Intersection Association believes that Hassan’s action falls within his right to freedom of expression and does not constitute a crime that requires an unjust imprisonment penalty. Besides, the frequency of such trials and the propagation of charges targeting individuals based on their opinions only reflect an elevation of repressive actions and the restriction of freedoms in Tunisia, given that democratic societies and nations that respect human rights and seek and guarantee them, cannot be established through forfeiting opinion, supressing freedoms, monitoring all critical voices from human rights defenders, activists, citizens from various backgrounds, and imprisoning them in Tunsian prisons

:Sources

Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms documented the violation case of citizen Hassan Labidi after communicating with his family and receiving their testimonies on August 2, 2023