Tunis on June 24, 2025,
Khayam Turki has been subjected to treatment in his cell that may be considered cruel and degrading, most notably the continuous light exposure, as the lights have been kept on day and night without interruption for over two years, causing him anxiety, especially when trying to sleep.
Politician Khayam Turki was arrested on February 11, 2023, following a raid and search of his home conducted by officers from the First National Unit for Investigating Terrorism, Organized Crime, and Offenses Against the Security of Tunisian Territory, acting under a judicial warrant issued by the Public Prosecutor. This decision was based on his participation in several political meetings and his contribution to forming a coalition opposing the current regime, which led to a detention order being issued against him on February 25, 2025. Ever since then, he has been kept in custody for 2 years, before receiving a first instance sentence of 48 years in prison.
Since his arrest, Khayam has been subjected to neglectful treatment, notably the spread of “Bed bugs”, and the risk of facing other skin diseases.
In addition to that, the lights in the room where the victim of the violation is being held are always on. According to the documented statements from his lawyer, Mr. Faouzi Jaballah, Khayam Turki has been forced to stay in a fully lit room 24 hours a day for over two years, which represents a clear violation of human dignity, ultimately harming his health. Khayam told his lawyer that he misses seeing the darkness of night, even for just one hour, and that he enjoys remembering it when the power sometimes goes out.
Keeping the lights on 24 hours a day in the room where Khayam Turki has been held in the civil prison of Mornaguia since his arrest, constitutes a form of psychological torture, and stands in violation of Tunisia’s obligations under international law, in fact, Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment..”
Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment also pressures the State to: “prevent in any territory under their jurisdiction other acts of this nature, even if they do not amount to torture as defined in article 1 of the Convention.”
The practices inflicted on Khayam Turki also violate the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which were recommended for adoption by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held in Geneva on 31 July 1955, in which Rule 10 of the section on accommodation states that “all rooms used by prisoners, particularly sleeping accommodations, shall meet all health requirements, due regard being paid to climatic conditions and particularly to cubic content of air, minimum floor space, lighting, heating, and ventilation.”
Also, according to the Penal Reform International organization, in its brief guide for prison staff entitled Mental Health in Prisons, poor detention conditions affect prisoners’ mental health and contribute to worsening psychological disorders.
As well as the practice of keeping detainees under continuous lighting is considered one of the known methods of psychological pressure and emotional abuse, and has previously been classified as a form of cruel or degrading treatment in similar international cases.
According to that, Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms calls for the immediate termination of the abusive treatment against Khayam Turki, mainly his constant exposure to light in night time, and providing him with health care to the minimum rights of prisoners by international standards, including the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
The association also stresses the urgent need to launch an independent investigation concerning the conditions of his detention and the treatment he has been facing.
