Nassiba Ben Ali

Summary

Nassiba Ben Ali, a Tunisian politician and member of the former parliament, was informed that she was banned from travelling under a judicial decision when she went to Tunis-Carthage Airport on Tuesday 24 September 2024 in order to travel back to her home and rejoin her family and her work.

Personal Information

Name: Nassiba Ben Ali

Nationality: Tunisian

Status: Former member of the Tunisian parliament elected in 2019

Case: Conspiracy against State security

Incidents of Violation

On 24 September 2024, Ms Nassiba Ben Ali went to Tunis-Carthage International Airport in order to travel back to her home and rejoin her family, where she was informed by Tunisian customs officers at the airport that the travel ban issued against her was still in force and that she could not leave the territory of the Tunisian Republic. The victim of the violation recounts that the travel ban stems from her participation in the virtual plenary session of the former Assembly of the Representatives of the People, held almost a year after the President of the Republic froze all the work of parliament.

The events go back to last year, when, upon returning to Tunisia on 9 September 2023, she discovered that a travel ban had been imposed on her. When she enquired about the reasons for this ban at the General Directorate of Border and Foreigners Police at Tunis-Carthage International Airport, it emerged that the ban had been imposed by a decision issued by the investigating judge on 16 June 2023, and she filed an appeal with the Indictment Chamber to challenge it.

After attempting to travel a second time on 24 September 2024, considering that the travel ban must be lifted after 14 months and that she should be allowed to exercise her right to freedom of movement, and upon being informed that she could not travel, Nassiba Ben Ali decided to stage a sit-in inside the airport for three days in protest at the procrastination she was facing and the judiciary's failure to respond to her request to lift the ban and to examine her file seriously.

The victim of the violation also recounts that when she stepped out in front of the door of Tunis-Carthage Airport to get some air, she was subsequently unable to go back inside, as the security forces present there prevented her and informed her that she could not re-enter.

Human Rights Violations

The decision imposing a travel ban on former parliamentarian Nassiba Ben Ali, because of her political activity and her performance of her role as an elected member of parliament at the time, constitutes a flagrant violation of human rights, in particular her right to freedom of movement, a fundamental right enshrined in Article 30 of the 2022 Constitution of the Tunisian Republic, which states that citizens are free to choose their place of residence and to move within the country, and have the right to leave it. This right is also protected by Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The victim of the violation further asserted that the failure to lift the travel ban on her to date is unlawful, particularly since Law No. 40 of 1975 of 14 May 1975 on passports and travel documents provides in Article 15 ter that "In all the cases mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, the travel ban must be lifted upon the expiry of a period of fourteen months from the date of its issuance." Nassiba Ben Ali considers that there is no obstacle to lifting the travel ban on her. Moreover, what the victim of the violation did in her capacity as a member of parliament, and her presence at a public meeting with the other members of parliament at the time, are not acts that warrant criminalisation and the prosecution of persons, or depriving her of her right to freedom of movement, since this falls within the right to engage freely in political activity, including holding meetings, seminars and the like, a right guaranteed by Article 20, paragraph 1, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides that everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.