TUNISIA: ARBITRARY DETENTION OF PROSECUTOR BECHIR AKREMI

The International League Against Arbitrary Detention urges the Government of Tunisia to take all the necessary actions to implement the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Opinion No. 02/2025 concerning Bechir Akremi, asking the Government of Tunisia to immediately and unconditionally release Bechir Akremi and to accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law.

Read the full WGAD Opinion concerning Bechir Akremi (Tunisia): Opinion No. 02/2025.

ARREST AND DETENTION OF TUNISIAN PROSECUTOR

Bechir Akremi is a national of Tunisia, born in 1955. He was an investigating judge at the Tunis Court of First Instance until 2016, when he was appointed Prosecutor at the Tunis Court of First Instance, responsible for economic and financial matters and counterterrorism. In this capacity, he led several high-profile investigations that exposed him to political pressure and hostility from the executive and security apparatus. These included the 2013 assassination of opposition leader Chokri Belaid, the 2015 Bardo Museum terrorist attack, and several corruption cases implicating high-ranking officials. His reporting of torture committed by police during the Bardo investigation allegedly drew hostility from security services and media outlets.

In 2020, the High Council of the Judiciary (HCJ) transferred Mr. Akremi to the Ministry of Justice against his will. The Administrative Court and later the High Administrative Court annulled the transfer as an abuse of power, but the rulings were not implemented. Subsequent criminal complaints filed by the Democratic Patriots’ Unified Party in March 2021, which had been previously dismissed, led to renewed disciplinary proceedings. On 13 July 2021, the HCJ suspended Mr. Akremi following proceedings marked, according to the source, by procedural irregularities. The Administrative Court annulled the suspension in January 2022. The ruling was upheld on appeal in June 2022. However, before the final decision was issued, the President adopted a decree on 1 June 2022, dismissing Mr. Akremi and 56 other judges. Although the Administrative Court later annulled the decree and ordered reinstatement, the Government has reportedly refused to comply.

Mr. Akremi was arrested on 12 February 2023 by police officers, about twenty of whom belonged to the counterterrorism unit. His arrest was motivated by a complaint filed against him by the two police officials whom he had previously reported to the Ministry of the Interior in connection with the 2015 terrorist attack on the Bardo Museum. He was held in custody and transferred to the Bouchoucha station, headquarters of the counterterrorism brigade. At the end of the police custody period, he was not released. Although there was no warrant for his detention, Mr. Akremi was reportedly admitted to the psychiatric ward of Razi Hospital in La Manouba following a medical report issued by several psychiatrists.

On 24 February 2023, Mr. Akremi was supposed to be released from the hospital, but members of the anti-terrorist brigade came and arrested him again, alleging that he had to be questioned immediately in connection with another case. He was reportedly taken back to the Bouchoucha station. On 5 January 2024, Mr. Akremi was brought before the investigating judge of the anti-terrorism unit which decided to extend Mr. Akremi’s detention by an additional four months. Mr. Akremi is currently being held in connection with three cases pending before the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation, and the hearings are yet to be scheduled.

The Government of Tunisia was given the opportunity to contest these allegations on 23 December 2024, and did not give an answer in due time.

ARRESTED WITHOUT BEING INFORMED OF THE CHARGES AND DETENTION PROLONGED WITHOUT JUSTIFICATION

According to the source, there was no legal basis for placing Mr. Akremi in detention at the time of his arrest, as there were no plausible reasons to suspect him or evidence. The charges only served as a pretext for targeting Mr. Akremi for having exercised his judicial independence. The Government of Tunisia failed to answer. Therefore, the Working Group found that Mr. Akremi's detention violated his right to liberty and security of person under articles 3 and 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Moreover, Mr. Akremi was not informed of the reasons for his arrest at the time of his apprehension, violating article 9 of the Covenant and article 9 (2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights according to the Working Group.

Mr. Akremi's detention was extended without legal grounds and without any necessity. The Working Group referred to a well-established norm of international law according to which pretrial detention must be the exception rather than the rule and must be ordered for as short a period as possible. Thus, it must be justified by specific risks and supported by an explanation of why alternative measures such as release on bail would be insufficient. In this case, the Working Group considered that by failing to consider the particular circumstances of this case, or to consider other preventive measures, the authorities did not justify Mr. Akremi's detention. Therefore, the Working Group considered that Mr. Akremi's detention constituted a violation of article 9 (3) of the Covenant.

Therefore, considering all the above, the Working Group found that Mr. Akremi’s arrest and detention lacked a legal basis, rendering his deprivation of liberty arbitrary under category I.

JUDGED BY A BIASED AND PARTIAL TRIBUNAL, IN VIOLATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF NE BIS IN IDEM AND FORCED PLACEMENT IN PSYCHIATRIC WARD WITHOUT JUDICIAL CONTROL

The sources argued that Mr. Akremi faced a lack of independence and impartiality from the judiciary, especially following the President's unilateral actions regarding the appointment and dismissal of judges. The Working Group expressed particular concern about the attacks on the independence of the judiciary in Tunisia since 2021, which create a context in which the right to a fair trial cannot be adequately protected. The Working Group considered that Mr. Akremi is subject to a structurally compromised judicial system, and it concluded that Mr. Akremi has been deprived of his right to be tried by an independent and impartial tribunal, in violation of article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 14 (1) of the Covenant.

Furthermore, Mr. Akremi was being prosecuted for cases that had already been concluded by final decisions, without any new facts or fundamental procedural flaws that would justify reopening the cases. The Working Group concluded that the renewal of proceedings against Mr. Akremi for substantially identical facts constitutes a violation of the fundamental principle of ne bis in idem, which protects individuals from being tried or punished twice for the same offense. Therefore, the Working Group found a violation of article 14 (7) of the Covenant.

Mr. Akremi was subjected to psychiatric detention without proper judicial oversight because of his status as a magistrate. The Working Group recalled that it had already condemned psychiatric detention when used to restrict freedom of expression. It further considered that the use of psychiatric institutions as instruments of repression not only undermines the integrity of mental health care but also erodes the fundamental principles of justice and the rule of law. Therefore, his internment in the psychiatric ward of a hospital following his detention, without apparent medical justification and considering the prohibition of access to his lawyers, raises serious concerns about the misuse of mental health facilities as a means of prolonging detention outside the normal judicial framework.

Finally, during Mr. Akremi’s custody, he was subjected to torture by sleep deprivation for several consecutive nights until it provoked a state of anxiety and intense stress. The Working Group found that the use of sleep deprivation as an interrogation technique or as punishment could, depending on the circumstances, constitute a form of torture, and its use would seriously compromise the fairness of any subsequent judicial proceedings. Such treatment is contrary to the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment enshrined in the Covenant and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Therefore, the Working Group concluded that the violations of Mr. Akremi's right to a fair trial are so grave that they render his detention arbitrary under category III.

CONCLUSIONS OF THE UN WORKING GROUP AGAINST ARBITRARY DETENTION

In light of the foregoing, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considered that the detention of Bechir Akremi was arbitrary and fell under categories I and III because the deprivation of liberty of Bechir Akremi was in contravention of articles 3, 9 and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9 and 14 of the Covenant.

The Working Group recommended that the Government of Tunisia take the steps necessary to remedy the situation of Bechir Akremi without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms. The Working group considered that, taking into account all circumstances of the case, the appropriate remedy would be to release him immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.