Under the dome of the Assembly of People’s Representatives, the Minister of Justice Leïla Jaffel delivered a direct response on Saturday evening to the accusations relayed in recent days surrounding the situation of hunger-striking prisoners. Questioned during the session devoted to examining her ministry’s budget, she firmly denied the existence of what she described as “wild hunger strikes” in Tunisian prisons.
Jaffel recognized that the right to hunger strike exists, but she insisted on respecting the health protocol which governs the medical monitoring of detainees. She claimed that some prisoners voluntarily refuse scheduled medical examinations, which is their choice, but rejected any attempt at “manipulation” or “distortion of reality”. The minister considered that the dissemination of exaggerated or unverified information damages the image of the country.
The case gained momentum after the video published by lawyer Dalila Msaddak, sister of detainee Jawher Ben Mbarek, prosecuted in the so-called “conspiracy against state security” case. In this video, she mentions a severe deterioration in the state of health of her brother, on hunger strike for more than two weeks, and claims that he was violently beaten at the Belli civil prison, in Nabeul.
The response from prison authorities was immediate. The general body of prisons and re-education has again denied what it describes as “false information” and “orchestrated staging”, while announcing the opening of legal proceedings against those who spread these assertions in the media and on social networks. She claims to have evidence that she will pass on to the courts.
Opening of investigations against three lawyers
In the same context, the prosecution of the court of first instance of Tunis ordered the opening of investigations against three lawyers, following a referral from the general agency to the Court of Appeal of Tunis. According to a judicial source, these procedures follow complaints filed by the prison authority about the dissemination of “erroneous information” on hunger strikes and the state of health of certain prisoners.
By multiplying the denials and clarifications under the dome of the ARP, Leïla Jaffel wanted to send a clear signal: the government intends to control the story around the protest movements in prison and leave no room for what it considers to be political exploitation of the issue. A way to regain control of a sensitive subject which combines justice, human rights and persistent political tensions.
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