Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms follows with deep concerns the deterioration of the health state of Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, who has been imprisoned for more than 2 years based on well known in media as “Conspiracy Case”, after undergoing a severe hunger strike on October 29, 2025, in protest against the gross violations of his rights to a fair trial and respectful treatment.
This strike came after the judicial authorities refused to allow him to be present in court on his appeal hearing on October 27, 2025, which is, according to his lawyer, a date he was informed of only in the early hours of the same day.
After 7 days of his brutal hunger strike, his health state started to progressively deteriorate, as his condition has reached a critical stage that now threatens his life, in fact, he only consumes a small amount of water that does not exceed 10 centiliters per day, and refuses to undergo medical treatment or take his medication, as he considers this as his “last battle for dignity and freedom”, and demands that all legal proceedings against him be dropped and that he be released immediately.
It’s worth noting that Jaouhar Ben Mbarek is also facing a first instance sentence of 18 years in prison in the conspiracy case against state security. He had been detained since February 23, 2023 under a detention order issued by the investigative judge at the judicial Pole for Counter-Terrorism on charges of forming a consensus to change the formulation of the state, and conspiring against its external and internal security, which resulted in the incarceration of many politicians with sentences ranging from 4 to 66 years.
This case is marked by many procedural flaws and legal violations, accompanied by breaches of the right to defence and the denial of the accused’s fundamental guarantees for a fair trial that meets all legal and humanitarian standards. The first hearings took place on March 4, 2025, and the judicial authorities chose to hold them remotely, without bringing the defendants into the courtroom to appear before the court in a public session that would allow them to defend themselves and exercise their right to confront the charges directed at them directly and fairly.
In this context, Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms states the following:
-Bears the Tunisian authorities’ full legal and moral responsibility for the safety of Jaouhar Ben Mbarek and his life, and considers any additional deterioration of his health a direct result of policies of judicial neglect.
-Renews its demand for the immediate release of all political detainees, dropping the charges brought against them and considers this trial purely political and lacks the most basic elements of a fair trial.
– Reminds of the rights of prisoners, most importantly the right to health and physical and psychological safety, as inalienable rights that the state is obliged to guarantee without any discrimination or neglect.
– Affirms the right to a fair, public, and transparent trial, ensuring the presence of the accused and enabling them to defend themselves in accordance with international standards of justice, free from exceptional procedures and practices that violate the rights of the defence.
– Calls the judicial and executive authorities to take urgent measures to take hold of this situation and ensure the safety, dignity, and fundamental rights of Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, in line with the Tunisian state’s obligations under the constitution and international human rights conventions.
