Summary:
Mahdi Zargouba is a Tunisian lawyer known for his opposition to the current regime. He was arrested by masked police officers, subjected to violence, and imprisoned due to several charges brought against him per Articles 125 and 127 of the Penal Code and Article 24 of Decree No. 54.
Personal Information:
Name: Mahdi Zargouba
Occupation: Lawyer
Case: Crimes stipulated in Articles 125 and 127 of the Penal Code, as well as Article 24 of Decree No.54
Incidents of Violation:
On Monday, May 13, 2024, Tunisian police forces surrounded the lawyer’s house in preparation for another raid following the events that accompanied the arrest of Attorney Sonia Dahmani. This time, the aim was to arrest Attorney Mehdi Zargouba, because of a video in which he denounced dictatorship and repression, as well as the re-emergence of the police state, and his expulsion of plain-clothed police officers from a courtroom. This has made him the subject of judicial prosecution, accused of severe violence against a public official performing his duties, and spreading false information with the intent of defaming and inciting assault against him, according to Articles 125 and 127 of the Penal Code, and Article 24 of Decree No. 54.
He was arrested by some masked and armed plain-clothed police officers who stormed the Lawyers’ House in Tunis and forcibly took him to an unmarked vehicle that does not indicate that it was an official state car.
According to the statement of the National Order of Lawyers, after referring him to the investigating judge, it turned out that he had been subjected to severe violence with signs of abuse in various parts of his body. The examination by the investigating judge confirms that he was tortured while in custody, as stated by Attorney Souad Bouker to the media. According to his lawyer he was also subjected to verbal and physical abuse, “There were disgraceful acts committed against him, the investigating judge personally observed, bruises and a rib fracture, head injuries, and other assaults “beyond imagination.” She reported. However, the investigating judge did not approve of a medical examination for security reasons, according to the Order’s statement. Additionally, he also decided to issue an arrest warrant against the victim of the violation, whose state of health deteriorated at the time due to the violence he was subjected causing him to fall into coma, which prevented him from being heard. “Despite the defense’s request for his release, the investigating judge decided to issue an arrest warrant against him while he was unconscious and without completing the interrogation. He was then taken to the hospital to receive the necessary medical care as a result of the violence he suffered from.
It should be noted that in recent years, Mahdi Zargouba had been brought before the military judiciary in the well-known “Airport Case”, a case that witnessed many procedural violations in addition to transgressing his right to a fair trial by being tried before a military court.
Human Rights Violations:
The arrest of Professor Mahdi Zargouba represented a serious violation of the procedures and disrespect for the law, as the raid on the Lawyers’ House was carried out by masked and armed individuals, who did not present any judicial permission to stop the arrest of the victim. Furthermore, his detention under Article 46 of the Bar Act, allows the detention of a lawyer in cases of flagrante delicto. However, the state of flagrante delicto did not exist during the raid. Moreover, the physical and verbal violence inflicted on the victim as punishment for his actions amounts to torture, which is criminalized by both international and local law. What happened to Mahdi is a violation of the right to bodily integrity, which is one of the fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Tunisia under Article 25, which stipulates: “The state protects human dignity and physical integrity, and prevents moral and physical torture. Torture is a crime for which there is no statute of limitations.”
It is also entrenched by various international conventions, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights under Article 5, which stipulates ”No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Article 7, also included “No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Besides, the African Charter on Human and Peoples ‘ Rights stipulates in Article 7 that “Everyone shall have the right to respect for their dignity and recognition of their legal status, prohibiting of all forms of exploitation, degradation, and enslavement, particualrly slavery, torture of all kinds, cruel or inhuman punishment and treatment.”