Ahead of the Tunis Court of Appeal’s decision tomorrow in Judge Hmedi’s appeal against his guilty verdict for “obstructing the freedom to work” and attendant one-year prison sentence, the ICJ again calls for his unjust and wrongful conviction and sentence – in violation of Judge Hmedi’s human rights and judicial immunity – to be quashed.
“As President of the Association of Tunisian Magistrates, Judge Hmedi has been one of Tunisia’s fiercest defenders of judicial independence. By targeting him, the Tunisian authorities target all independent judges and prosecutors in Tunisia,” said Saïd Benarbia, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme Director. “The Tunisian authorities must immediately quash Judge Hmedi’s conviction and sentence and guarantee the rights to freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly, including the right to strike.”
On 3 June 2026, less than two months after the first instance verdict, the Tunis Court of Appeal held the first hearing in Judge Hmedi’s appeal against his conviction and sentence, notwithstanding the fact that neither him or his legal team had received the summons or notification of the appeal hearing. Consequently, neither the appellant nor his defence counsel was aware that the hearing was taking place. On the day, a lawyer who was in Court but who was not acting on Judge Hmedi’s behalf, made an impromptu application for an adjournment, given that both Judge Hmedi and his counsel were not present. The President of the Court of Appeal granted a two-week adjournment.
On 17 June 2026, the Tunis Court of Appeal resumed the hearing, once again with no official notification having been sent to Judge Hmedi or his legal team. During the proceedings, Judge Hmedi’s defence lawyer requested an adjournment on the basis that the authorities had failed to notify his client and his legal team of the hearing. With respect to this, he explained that he was only present because he had been informed by his colleague who had made the previous adjournment application at the hearing on 3 June 2026. Nonetheless, the Court of Appeal rejected the request and proceeded. The Court then adjourned the appeal for deliberation and judgment on 1 July 2026, despite all other adjournments that day being set to dates after the judicial summer recess, in September or October.
Under international human rights law, Tunisia has an obligation to guarantee Judge Hmedi’s right to a fair trial, which includes his rights to adequate time for the preparation of his appeal and to represent himself in-person or through legal counsel of his own choosing. As a result, it is critical that appellants be properly notified of hearings in their cases in accordance with the law and in good time to allow them time to prepare, and to ensure that they and their legal representatives be able to attend. In Judge Hmedi’s case, the Tunisian authorities’ failure to properly notify the appellant and his legal team of the appeal hearings in his case, the Court of Appeal’s decision to ultimately proceed with the appeal in Judge Hmedi’s absence, and the Court’s decision to adjourn the case for final deliberation and judgment before the judicial summer recess give rise to concern that the appeal verdict is being unjustifiably expedited in order to hinder Judge Hmedi’s efforts to properly contest his wrongful and unjust conviction and sentence.
In light of the above, the ICJ urges the Tunisian authorities to:
- immediately quash the conviction and sentence of Judge Hmedi;
- allow the Association of Tunisian Magistrates, and all civil society organizations, to fulfil their mandates without harassment and threats of arbitrary criminal prosecution;
- guarantee the right to a fair trial for all suspects, defendants and appellants in criminal proceedings;
- cease all arbitrary prosecutions of judges and prosecutors and re-instate all arbitrarily dismissed judges and prosecutors; and
- restore judicial independence, including by ending executive interference in judicial affairs and by re-establishing an independent High Judicial Council responsible for the appointment, transfer, and disciplining of judges and prosecutors.
Background
Judge Hmedi’s conviction stems from a 2022 judicial strike organized by the AMT, which took place in response to President Kaïs Saïed’s arbitrary dismissal of 57 judges and prosecutors in June 2022. His appeal against conviction and sentence is the culmination of a flawed legal process marked by violations of Judge Hmedi’s right to a fair trial and procedural irregularities at both the pre-trial and trial stages.
In addition to trying him on charges of “obstructing the freedom to work”, the Tunisian authorities have brought other criminal proceedings against Judge Hmedi. In late 2025, at least three complaints were reportedly filed against him in a concerted effort to bring fabricated and arbitrary criminal charges against him.
Judge Hmedi’s conduct and his work for the AMT are protected under international human rights law and standards, notably under articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR, guaranteeing the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, respectively. The UN Human Rights Committee has interpreted the right to freedom of association, under article 22 of the ICCPR, as encompassing the right to strike. As a State Party to the ICCPR, Tunisia is legally obligated to respect these rights.
