Summary: 

On August 15, Mourad Messaoudi, a Tunisian Judge and the president of the Tunisian Young Judges, was arrested, in front of the eyes of his family, by police forces in civilian attire and forcibly taken to an unknown location without providing any explanation or a legal warrant for his detention.

Personal Information: 

Name: Mourad Messaoudi

Occupation: Judge, and the president of the Tunisian Young Judges.

Case: Offering cash or material gifts with the intent to influence voters.

Violation Incidents: 

Enduring both arrest and physical assault on Friday, August 15, 2025, Judge Mourad Messaoudi while with his 6 year old daughter , was stopped by a group of men with civilian attire claiming to be police officers while offering zero evidence of being part of the police.

The victim of the violation’s lawyer confirmed that his client, when asked to provide proof of their identity, was attacked by them and was forced to get into their vehicle.

It’s important to note that the assault affected both him and his daughter, but he managed to get her out of the vehicle. And upon reaching her home she informed her family that her father was subjected to violence.

His wife also added in a media statement that the police officers broke down the door of the house and violently attacked those present inside, including her niece who is nine years old, which required her to be taken to the hospital. The lawyer also confirmed that Mourad Messaoudi was subjected to physical violence at the moment of his arrest before conducting him to an unknown location.

It was later revealed that the arrest of Mourad Messaoudi was based on the charges filed against him related to his candidacy for the 2024 presidential elections. 

Mourad Messaoudi was summoned before the criminal chamber of the Court of First Instance in Tunis on charges related to offering cash or material gifts with the intent to influence voters.  A default judgement was issued against him on August 5, 2025, resulting in an 8 month sentence to be served immediately. The Public Prosecution had appealed the aforementioned ruling in default, which was approved in the appeal phase on September 10, 2024. 

Following this, Mourad Massaoudi received a certificate of clearance, through which the effect of the search warrant issued against him was officially terminated.

In fact, just a day before his arrest, the attorney general at the court of Appeal issued a search notice to enforce an in default appellate ruling that confirmed the contested initial judgement, 

The lawyer asserts that the ruling has no legal effect and was not immediately enforceable, and so his client should have remained free.

Still, a search notice and detention order were issued, blatantly violating the law.

In addition to that, Mourad Messaoudi had been relieved of his duties under presidential Decree 516 on June 1, 2022, However, he regained his status as a judge based on a ruling issued in his favor by the Administrative Court, which suspended all dismissal procedures since March 2022. This ensures he enjoys legal protections during criminal proceedings against judges, most importantly judicial immunity.

On Monday, August 18, 2025, a hearing was scheduled for September 5, 2025, to review his case.

Human Rights Violations: 

What Judge Mourad Messaoudi was subjected to constitutes a series of human rights violations. He was arrested by a group of men claiming to be police officers while dressed in civilian clothing, without presenting any documents proving their official status. He was taken to a location unknown to his family or lawyer, amounting to arbitrary detention and abduction, in violation of the right to personal liberty and the prohibition of enforced disappearance, in accordance with Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Furthermore, the physical assault and ill-treatment he endured constitute violations of the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under Article 5 of the Universal Declaration and Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which prohibits cruel treatment, and Article 6, which affirms the right to personal liberty and security.

The raid on his home and the assault on his family members also constitute a violation of Article 30 of the Constitution of the Republic, which guarantees the protection of private life and the inviolability of the home.

Moreover, the attacks affected the children in the family, including his six-year-old daughter and another nine-year-old girl, which can be considered a violation of children’s rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. These instruments require protection of children from all forms of violence and mandate that the best interests of the child be a primary consideration in all actions concerning them, as stipulated in Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the protection of children from all forms of physical or mental violence as stated in Article 19.

The detention of the victim also constitutes multiple serious violations. Firstly, the victim is a judge who enjoys judicial immunity under a ruling issued by the Administrative Court, which annulled his dismissal, representing a grave breach of legal guarantees and judicial procedures. This also constitutes a violation of his right to a fair trial as provided in Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which affirms that everyone is equal before the courts and is entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal established by law in the determination of any criminal charge or civil rights and obligations.

What Judge Mourad Messaoudi and his family experienced represents a blatant violation of fundamental human rights and reveals a complete disregard for national and international legal obligations. His detention is part of a broader pattern of political targeting of candidates in the 2024 presidential elections and the misuse of judicial authority to manipulate the law against critical and opposing voices, aiming to imprison them.

Sources:

The violation was documented based on a call with the victim’s lawyer, “Samir Ben Omar”, on 18 August 2025, in addition to reviewing the statement from the Tunisian Judges’ Association, the victim’s wife’s media statement, and reports from other media and lawyers regarding the victim’s case.