Mariem Bribri

Summary

Activist Mariem Bribri was sentenced to four months in prison and a fine of 500 dinars following a complaint filed against her by police unions because Mariem published a video accompanied by a post in which she criticised a police officer's behaviour towards a citizen. This ruling is a new episode in a series of reprisals and restrictions against human rights defenders.

Personal Information

Name: Mariem Bribri

Nationality: Tunisian

Occupation: Fashion designer

Incidents of Violation

On 21 December 2021, the Court of First Instance of Sfax sentenced human rights activist Mariem Bribri to four months in prison and fined her 500 dinars. The ruling followed a video accompanied by a post that Mariem published on her Facebook page, in which she criticised a police officer's behaviour towards a citizen. As a result, a member of the police unions in Sfax filed a case against her, accusing her of undermining the honour and reputation of the security forces and of harming others through social networks.

Charge: Insulting a public official

Trials and Legal Procedures

After activist Mariem Bribri published the above-mentioned video, the police unions filed a complaint against her, accusing her of undermining the honour and reputation of the security forces and of harming others through social networks, together with the charge of insulting a public official. The complaint was examined by the Misdemeanour Chamber of the Court of First Instance of Sfax, which sentenced Mariem Bribri to four months in prison and fined her 500 dinars.

Human Rights Violations

The ruling against activist Mariem Bribri constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of expression, a right enshrined in Article 31 of the Constitution of the Republic, which provides that freedom of opinion, thought, expression, information and publication are guaranteed and that no prior censorship may be exercised over these freedoms. This shocking judicial ruling reinforces the methods used by police unions to persecute activists and to try to confiscate the right to freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed by all international instruments and by the Constitution of the Tunisian Republic. Police unions consistently resort to judicial prosecution of human rights defenders who work to expose and denounce police violations in Tunisia, in order to intimidate them and prevent them from continuing to reveal those violations to the public.

Sources

In this documentation, Intersection Association relied on the account of the victim of the violation, Mariem Bribri, in posts on her personal social media page, as well as on statements of support from a number of parties and associations that contained details and events related to the case.