The Tunisian authorities must drop all charges against anyone being prosecuted under Decree 54 for the legitimate exercise of their freedom of expression, and provide reparation for the harm suffered to the victims of such arbitrary prosecutions, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said today.
In a new briefing paper published today, the ICJ examines the Tunisian authorities’ enforcement of Decree 54 through which they have imposed illegal and arbitrary restrictions on the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression, among other human rights.
“The Tunisian authorities are using Decree 54 to arbitrarily silence dissenting and independent voices, in clear violation of the country’s obligations under international human rights law,” said Said Benarbia, ICJ MENA director. “They must repeal Decree 54 and end all arbitrary proceedings initiated to enforce its provisions.”
Based on an analysis of 14 cases, including four cases concerning the enforcement of Decree 54 against lawyers, the briefing documents how affected individuals have been subject to harassment, investigation, criminal charges, prosecution and imprisonment, and how their human rights, including to: freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, and liberty and security, have been violated.
The briefing analyses how Decree 54 allows the executive to use its provisions to curtail independent voices under the guise of combating “cybercrime” and “fake news”. Moreover, through the use of surveillance and criminal sanctions, in violation of Tunisia’s legal obligations under international human rights law and standards, the Decree enables the authorities to exert an unwarranted control over what people say, including politicians, journalists and human rights defenders.
The ICJ is deeply concerned by the alarming number of prosecutions under Decree 54 and condemns the use of criminal proceedings against lawyers, journalists, political figures, trade unionists and other free voices solely for the legitimate exercise of their right to freedom of expression, whether on the basis of Decree 54 or any other legal provision.
The briefing paper further examines how the enforcement of Decree 54 violates Tunisia’s obligations under international human rights law and standards with respect to the independence of the judiciary, resulting from an increase in the prosecutions of lawyers and an increase in the use of military courts to try civilians in Tunisia.
With a view to ensuring full compliance with Tunisia’s international human rights law obligations and relevant standards, the ICJ calls on the Tunisian authorities to:
- revoke Decree 54;
- drop all charges against anyone being prosecuted under this Decree solely for the legitimate exercise of their freedom of expression and provide reparation for the harm suffered as a result of such arbitrary prosecution and, as applicable, for unlawful pre-trial detention; and
- refrain from further trying civilians before military courts, and limit the jurisdiction of these courts to trying military personnel for criminal offences of a strictly military nature;
- end all attacks against lawyers, political opponents and journalists, including politicized judicial proceedings, abusive prosecutions and all instances of arbitrary detention;
- immediately and unconditionally release all lawyers currently detained pending trial or imprisoned upon conviction solely on the basis of the peaceful exercise of their human rights and/or the legitimate discharge of their professional duties; and
- halt attacks on the judiciary as an institution and against individual judges, and ensure that judges be able to act independently and impartially in defence of the rule of law, the separation of powers and human.