The President of the National Order of Lawyers of Tunisia, Boubaker Bethabet, urgently convened the Council of the Order to examine the “unjustified obstacles” noted in the case of detainee Jawhar Ben Mbarek, on hunger strike, and the alleged attacks on his defense rights.
Lawyer visits blocked at Belli prison
The case took a new turn after the press conference given Wednesday by Me Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddek, sister and lawyer of the detainee, who claimed to have been prevented from meeting her client at Belli prison (governorate of Nabeul), despite a visit authorization still valid, reports TAP Agency.
Another lawyer, Me Lobna Mejri, confirmed having suffered the same refusal, although she had an authorization issued on November 6 by the general prosecutor’s office at the Tunis Court of Appeal. The prison administration would have required a new authorization, in contradiction with the validity of the initial document.
Faced with these facts, President Bethabet demanded of the judicial and penitentiary authorities, in particular the prosecution at the Tunis Court of Appeal and the management of Belli prison, to identify those responsible for these violations and to “enforce the law without unjustified administrative obstacles”.
He recalled that the right for a detainee to meet his lawyer “cannot be subject to any restriction” outside of legal texts, and that no executive power can oppose it.
Allegations of violence and complaint of torture
Tensions worsen after the complaint filed by Jawhar Ben Mbarek’s defense committee for “the crime of torture”. During a press conference held at the headquarters of the Al Joumhouri Party, Me Hanen Khemiri affirmed that the complaint names the alleged perpetrators and is based on visible traces of violence on the body of the detainee.
According to the lawyers, Jawhar Ben Mbarek was dragged out of the surveillance cameras before being severely beaten by six common law detainees, on the orders of four guards and their superior.
Cross-investigations and climate of tension
At the same time, a judicial source confirmed to the TAP agency that the prosecution of the court of first instance of Tunis opened an investigation targeting three lawyers, following complaints filed by the general committee of prisons and re-education. These complaints concern the dissemination of rumors and false information concerning the conditions of detention and the health of the hunger strikers.
This standoff between the body of lawyers and the prison administration is part of a climate of strong tension around the fate of Jawhar Ben Mbarek, an opposition figure who has been detained for several months.
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