Rédaction Africa Links 24 with satarbf
Published on 2024-04-03 17:41:35
The growing judicial harassment and intimidation by Tunisian authorities against lawyers who have only fulfilled their professional duties violate the rights of these lawyers and hinder access to justice and useful remedies for victims of human rights violations, Amnesty International said, the day before the judgment in the case of lawyer Abdelaziz Essid, who is being prosecuted for false accusations.
Authorities have targeted at least 20 lawyers representing members of various opposition political parties, activists, and victims of human rights abuses, subjecting them to criminal investigations for baseless charges, in which they are accused of “harming third parties”, “accusing a public official of illegal acts without justifying the accuracy of the accusation” in the exercise of their profession as lawyers, “verbally assaulting an official” and “spreading false news”. The charges are under the Tunisia Telecommunications Code, the Penal Code, and Decree Law No. 54 respectively. If found guilty, lawyers face up to 20 years in prison and heavy fines.
” Targeting lawyers who have only practiced their profession is a parody of justice. Everyone, including lawyers, has the right to respect for their human rights. ” Fida Hammami, Amnesty International
” Hindering the independence of the legal profession and targeting lawyers representing victims of human rights abuses is a further blow to the rights to defense and fair trial more generally in Tunisia,” said Fida Hammami, research and advocacy officer at Amnesty International Tunisia.
” Authorities must stop their harassment of the 20 lawyers subject to investigations related solely to the peaceful exercise of their human rights. Lawyers must be able to carry out their professional duties and express themselves without being subjected to intimidation and harassment and without fear of retaliation. ”
On March 29, the Tunis Court of First Instance will render its decision in the case of lawyer Abdelaziz Essid, who is being tried for “harming third parties through public telecommunications networks” and “accusing a public official of illegal acts without justifying the accuracy of the accusation”, under Article 86 of the Telecommunications Code and Article 128 of the Penal Code respectively, due to a complaint from the Minister of Justice.
Abdelaziz Essid is one of three members of the defense team for six opposition members incarcerated in the highly publicized “conspiracy case”, who are now themselves under investigation or prosecution for statements they made to the media about this case.
The charges against Abdelaziz Essid are based on statements he made during a press conference in which he highlighted inconsistencies regarding dates and facts in the file related to the so-called conspiracy case and indicated that the file may have been manipulated.
Another case concerns the investigation that the prosecutor’s office opened against 14 members of the defense team of Noureddine El Bhiri, a prominent member of the opposition party Ennahdha, due to a complaint against this team filed by a member of the national guard following an altercation between the latter and the lawyers. An investigating judge, in the context of this investigation, banned the 14 lawyers from traveling.
In four other cases, investigations were opened shortly after the lawyers publicly criticized the actions of the Minister of Justice or made corruption allegations against her.
” Targeting lawyers who have only practiced their profession is a parody of justice. Everyone, including lawyers, has the right to respect for their human rights,” said Fida Hammami.
These rights include the rights to freedom, security of person, and freedom of expression, guaranteed by Articles 9 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Articles 6 and 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, treaties to which Tunisia is a party.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers has called on public prosecutors to “be particularly vigilant when a situation arises in which a lawyer may be considered a criminal solely for exercising his functions. He urges authorities to give the necessary instructions so that the prosecution does not engage in malicious prosecutions against legal practitioners who, in the exercise of their functions and their freedom of expression, criticize the representatives and institutions of the State.
Source : Amnesty International
Read the original article(French) on Tunisie Focus
