Part of the opposition protest marches in Tunisia to demand the release of opponents (Al Jazeera)
The Defense Authority for Political Prisoners in Tunisia in the case of what is known as “conspiracy against state security” appealed to the six political prisoners on hunger strike to suspend their strike after two weeks of its implementation.
Lawyer and member of the defense committee, Ayachi Al-Hammami, said that the authority promises the detainees more work with various parties and human rights organizations in order to release them.
He urged them to call off the strike “because of the danger it poses to their physical health.”
Al-Hamami read a statement during a press conference held by the Commission at the Lawyer’s House in the capital, one year after the arrest of 6 political opponents in this case, signed by more than 30 political and human rights figures, demanding the end of the strike and declaring their support.
Members of the defense committee for detained political leaders said that they are afraid of the judiciary, which has become an arm of the executive authority, which contradicts the principles of the 2011 revolution, according to what Dalila Ben Mubarak, a member of the committee, stated.
Lawyer Islam Hamza confirmed that the defense team will not delve into the file and its details, as they are futile attempts since it does not include concrete and clear charges and legal evidence.
Hamza described the situation as dangerous and unprecedented, especially after the Minister of Justice assumed tasks that were not authorized to her, such as her authority over the Public Prosecution on instructions from the President, in addition to her request for judicial repercussions.
Lawyers enumerated the legal violations recorded by human rights organizations since the beginning of the arrests and the suffering of detainees inside prisons in terms of food, especially with frozen food being provided to them while they suffer from chronic diseases.
In addition to transporting their patients in a “torture car,” and preventing their families from visiting them directly, as they are considered terrorists.
The members of the defense team condemned the referral of 6 of the detainees’ lawyers to investigation and the defamation of their reputation by the authority’s media outlets.
The families of the political detainees carried out a protest on Sunday evening, with their hands bound and mouths gagged, in front of the municipal theater in the capital, to protest the arrest of their relatives without evidence convicting them.
Source: Al Jazeera