Sofiene Boukadi

Summary

Sofiene Boukadi, a human rights activist, was arbitrarily arrested on 18 February 2023 by plain-clothes security officers in an unmarked car, without them showing their identity or a judicial warrant. His phone was seized and he was forcibly taken to his home, where his family lives.

Police officers broke into the house by force after removing the door, and searched it without clear authorisation or a declared legal basis. The victim states that the officers filmed him and mocked him, without informing him of the nature of the charge or the legal basis for the raid and search, which constitutes a serious attack on human dignity and a violation of the guaranteed legal safeguards. The search record also contained information that did not correspond to the facts, as the officers indicated that the search was carried out in the presence of his wife, whereas the person concerned is not married at all, raising serious questions about the accuracy of the information contained in the record and the soundness of the procedures followed.

He was then taken to the specialised unit for combating terrorist crimes at the El Aouina barracks, where he was held in custody and questioned for nearly 14 consecutive hours, according to his account, by a number of security officers. He adds that up to that point he had not been informed of the nature of the charges against him or allowed to exercise the rights guaranteed to him by law, including the presence of a lawyer.

During the questioning, Sofiene stated that the whole process was exhausting as it lasted for long hours and took place in conditions he described as humiliating. He also pointed out that most of the questions focused on his civic and associational activity, his political positions and his relations with civil society organisations. He added that he was again filmed with a mobile phone without his consent or being told the reasons, affirming that he was subjected to mockery and degradation from the moment his home was searched right up to inside the prison, particularly when he was subjected to a thorough body search.

On the second day of custody, 19 February 2023, the questioning of Sofiene continued for more than 12 hours by his estimate, with most of the questions, he stresses, being of a political nature, while he was still not informed of the charges against him. As the questioning and the accompanying exhaustion continued, his health gradually deteriorated.

He developed acute health symptoms, consisting of high blood pressure and high blood sugar, according to his statement; despite this, his questioning continued in flagrant disregard of the seriousness of his health condition, and it later emerged, according to the medical report, that he had suffered a heart attack.

On 20 February 2023, he was taken to the Internal Security Forces Hospital in La Marsa after suffering a heart attack during the investigation, but the officers asked the doctor to return him to the El Aouina headquarters to continue the investigation. The investigation continued until 02 March 2023, when he was brought before the Public Prosecution at the Judicial Counter-Terrorism Pole, which decided to relinquish the case to the Ben Arous Court of First Instance.

On 03 March 2023, he was brought before the fourth investigating judge, where the victim stated that he was treated in a humiliating manner and that the request to obtain medical reports was refused. A committal warrant to Mornaguia civil prison was then issued against him, for one year, on the charge of conspiracy against state security.

He adds that he was deprived of his right to a defence, as his lawyer was prevented from pleading on his behalf and was told that she too was suspected of involvement in the case (her name appearing in the investigation file). On the same day, upon his committal to Mornaguia prison, he was placed in a room known as the punishment room despite his critical health condition, where he suffered a haemorrhage from the mouth and ear on 04 March 2023, but he was not taken to a doctor for treatment.

After 11 days, he was transferred to Charles Nicolle Hospital on 15 March 2023 under heavy guard, where it was confirmed that he had severe internal bleeding, most likely a heart attack. He remained in hospital until 17 March 2023, and was then returned to prison before completing his treatment despite the doctor's disagreement, which led to a worsening of his health condition: he later suffered temporary hemiplegia in early August 2023, requiring his transfer to the neurology department at La Rabta Hospital.

In May, Sofiene's family suffered a bereavement, when his brother died. Despite his efforts, he was prevented from attending his brother's funeral on 17 May 2023, in violation of his most basic human rights, and was deprived of receiving condolences and attending the burial.

On 9 September 2023, he fell ill and had to be taken to Charles Nicolle Hospital, where he remained for a month and a half in the internal medicine department before leaving on 13 October 2023. It later emerged that he had suffered a second heart attack, most likely resulting from medical neglect in prison, and he was also diagnosed with heart failure and Behçet's disease. Following this, he was transferred to Aziza Othmana Hospital for a medical procedure to cryopreserve his sperm before starting treatment, in coordination with the internal medicine department at Charles Nicolle Hospital.

He was visited by the Inspector General of the Ministry of Justice after he gave notice of his intention to sue them over the serious and permanent damage to his health that he had suffered. In this context, he stated that the inspector treated him in a manner that did not respect his human dignity, including a veiled threat, without regard for his psychological and health condition. He also affirmed that the prison administration did not provide him with the medication he was entitled to and did not allow him to receive it from his family, in addition to refusing to transfer him for treatment despite the prison doctor acknowledging that this was necessary.

He was also subjected to an attack consisting of the tearing up of the papers on which he wrote his notes and writings in prison, including those documenting his health condition and conditions of detention, which constitutes an infringement of his right to expression and documentation.

On 06 November 2023, he began a hunger strike lasting 15 days in protest at being prevented from obtaining his medication, which comprises 13 types for the treatment of chronic illnesses, amid the continued deprivation of health care. This later led to him being allowed to bring in his medication, but intermittently and irregularly. The strike was also, according to the victim of the violation, a protest against the refusal of the fourth investigating judge at the Ben Arous Court of First Instance to grant an order on petition to obtain the medical reports showing the deterioration of his health.

The doctor's request for him to undergo a scintigraphy was also refused by the prison clinic, which prevented the completion of an accurate medical diagnosis to assess the condition of his heart, most likely in order to reduce the means of proving the after-effects of the medical neglect he suffered. It should be noted that, in addition to the harassment and ill-treatment suffered by the victim of the violation in prison, his transfers between the prison and the hospital took place in harsh and inhumane conditions.

On 18 December 2024, the Ben Arous Court of First Instance issued a first-instance judgment dismissing the charges in the conspiracy against state security case, and referring him under Article 24 of Decree-Law 54 over the resharing of a post characterised as offensive to the President of the Republic, for which he was sentenced to 3 years in prison and a fine of 30,000 dinars. The judgment was appealed, and appeal judgment No. 43068 issued by the Tunis Court of Appeal on 3 June 2025 upheld the first-instance judgment.

On 2 March 2026, he left prison after 3 years and 14 days, exceeding the legal term because the period of pre-trial detention was not counted.