The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemned today the arbitrary detention of prominent lawyer and former administrative judge Ahmed Souab, and called on the Tunisian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release and drop all criminal charges against him.
.هذا البيان الصحفي متوفر باللغة العربية أيضاً
The actions against Ahmed Souab are illustrative of the pervasive pattern of assault on the free functioning of the independent legal profession, including the exercise of freedom of expression of lawyers in Tunisia.
On 21 April 2025, Ahmed Souab was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Brigade and placed in pre-trial detention as an apparent consequence of critical comments he made following the sham “conspiracy case” trial, in which he had acted as defence counsel. He has since been charged with serious offences under Tunisia’s counter-terrorism law.
Nothing in those comments or in any evidence so far presented by the authorities constitutes a cognizable criminal offence. Rather, the prosecution appears to be in retaliation for remarks made in the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression that were disfavoured by the authorities.
“The arbitrary arrest and detention of Mr. Souab, a respected lawyer and former administrative judge known for his defence of human rights, sends yet another chilling message to the legal community and civil society in Tunisia,” said Saïd Benarbia, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme Director. “There is no doubt his detention is a direct reprisal for his professional activities and his legitimate comment on the deeply flawed criminal proceedings in the so-called conspiracy case.”
In addition to dropping the charges against Ahmed Souab, the ICJ repeats its call on the Tunisian authorities to end their assault on the independent legal profession and respect and ensure that lawyers, like all persons, are able to exercise their fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression. Tunisia should stop the abusive invocation of the counter-terrorism law and telecommunication laws for spurious prosecutions against those exercising such rights.
Background
On 21 April 2025, the Counter-Terrorism Brigade raided Souab’s home, during which his son was briefly detained, and his family’s electronic devices were seized. He was subsequently held in custody and denied access to counsel for 48 hours, pursuant to Organic Law No. 2015-26 of 7 August 2015 on terrorism. His arrest followed the circulation of a video in which he made comments about the potential pressure exercised on the presiding judge of the “conspiracy case” trial, which was protected speech but deliberately taken out of context and misrepresented on certain pro-governmental social media accounts as a threat against the judge.
On 23 April 2025, Souab appeared before the investigating judge at the Counter-Terrorism Judicial Pole. The judge ordered his pre-trial detention and charged him with serious offences under the “Counter-Terrorism” Law, such as “forming a terrorist organization”, “supporting terrorist acts”, and “threatening to commit terrorist crimes,” as well as offences of “spreading fake news” and “insulting others or disturbing their comfort through public telecommunications networks” under Decree-Law 2022-54 on cybercrime and article 86 of the Telecommunications Code, respectively.
On 28 April 2025, Souab appeared again before the investigating judge for interrogation. His lawyers formally requested his release. The investigating judge implicitly rejected the defence’s bail application after the legally mandated four-day deadline passed without a decision being issued.
Contact
Saïd Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; t: +41 22 979 3800, e: [email protected]
Nour Al Hajj, Communications & Advocacy Officer, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; e: [email protected]
