The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) firmly condemns the Tunisian authorities’ initiation of further arbitrary criminal proceedings against Judge Anas Hmedi, the President of the Association of Tunisian Magistrates (AMT). Judge Hmedi only became aware of these latest proceedings against him after they were announced in the media on 26 December 2025. Then, on 7 January 2026, without any indication of the charges against him, he was summoned to appear before an investigating judge at the Tunis Court of First Instance on 9 January 2026. The latest criminal case against him appears to be in direct retaliation for Judge Hmedi’s recent statements as AMT’s President in defence of judicial independence in Tunisia, statements in which he criticized the executive’s control over the judiciary in Tunisia.
“The Tunisian authorities’ latest effort to prosecute Judge Hmedi is yet another naked attempt to silence him and, more broadly, to stymie the work of AMT in promoting and safeguarding judicial independence in Tunisia,” said Saïd Benarbia, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme Director. “Judge Hmedi, like all judges, must be allowed to freely exercise his rights to freedom of expression and association without fear of reprisal.”
In reaction to the November 2025 appeal verdict in the so-called Conspiracy Case – in which the convictions on spurious “State security” charges of 34 political opponents and public figures were upheld – Judge Hmedi gave a public statement condemning the verdict, the defendants’ imprisonment and the executive’s interference in the case. Following his public denunciation of the appeal verdict, three judges who had presided over the Conspiracy Case filed complaints against Judge Hmedi.
In November 2025, Judge Hmedi also publicly criticized a statement made by the Minister of Justice, which he said had undermined the institution of the High Judicial Council. Furthermore, on 15 December 2025, AMT issued a public statement condemning the increasing number of summonses issued by the General Inspection Service against judges and prosecutors in Tunisia and their subsequent interrogations concerning their positions within the Tunisian justice system. The General Inspection Service, which is under the direct authority of the Minister of Justice, is responsible for inspecting the functioning of the courts.
Hmedi’s conduct and AMT’s work 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, with which Tunisia is legally obligated to comply. Additionally, the UN Basic Principles on Independence of the Judiciary state that, “judges shall be free to form and join associations of judges or other organizations to represent their interests, to promote their professional training and to protect their judicial independence.”
The ICJ urges the Tunisian authorities to:
- immediately drop all charges against Judge Hmedi;
- cease all arbitrary prosecutions of judges and prosecutors; and
- restore judicial independence, including by ending executive interference in judicial affairs and by re-establishing an independent High Judicial Council.
Background
The latest criminal proceedings against Judge Hmedi follow criminal and disciplinary proceedings initiated against him since 2022 in the aftermath of a judicial strike organized by AMT. That year, AMT organized a nationwide judicial strike in response to President Kaïs Saïed’s arbitrary dismissal of 57 judges and prosecutors. At the time, article 36 of the 2014 Constitution guaranteed judges’ right to strike. Nevertheless, in October 2022, the Monastir Criminal Court of First Instance charged Judge Hmedi with “disrupting the freedom of work”, under article 136 of the Penal Code, on the basis that he had “incited” judges to join the strike. The case remains pending.
Additionally, in March 2023, the Temporary High Judicial Council (THJC) summoned Judge Hmedi to attend a disciplinary hearing concerning the same facts for which he had been charged in October 2022. These disciplinary proceedings have also been indefinitely stalled due to the failure of the Ministry of Justice to appoint ex-officio THJC members, leaving the body without quorum and thus unable to issue decisions.
Contact
Saïd Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; t: +41 22 979 3800, e: said.benarbia@icj.org
Nour Al Hajj, Communications & Advocacy Officer, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; e: nour.alhajj@icj.org
