The Association of Tunisian Magistrates (AMT) called, on Saturday August 16, 2025, at the immediate release of judge Mourad Messaoudi, arrested the day before by in civilian security agents before his home in Ezzahra, and to the reopening of the files of the magistrates revoked in 2022.
In a press release published on its Facebook page and relayed by the TAP agency, the AMT affirms that security agents intercepted Messaoudi while he was with his daughter, using violence against him and certain family members, including children. The magistrate was allegedly taken to an unknown destination, which the association considers as a “serious attack on legal guarantees” provided for by the Constitution and the law for prosecution targeting a judge.
Mourad Messaoudi was one of the 57 magistrates revoked by the presidential decree n ° 516 of June 1, 2022, a measure suspended for him by a judgment of the administrative court in August 2022, returning to him his status and the immunity which results from it.
The prosecution issued a research mandate against him on August 14, 2025, as part of an investigation into alleged purchase of sponsorships for the 2024 presidential election.
Conviction and worries
The AMT “firmly condemns” arrest, calling it “kidnapping” under the cover of legal proceedings, and denounces the alleged violence against the magistrate and his relatives. She claims to fear political relentlessness due to the public positions of Messaoudi and his candidacy for the presidential election.
She reiterates her call to “raise the tone of reason and wisdom” in the processing of the files of the magistrates revoked, and to scrupulously respect the legal procedures for any lifting of immunity.
No official reaction from the Ministry of Justice had been communicated at the time of publication.
