On October 24, 2018, the Sidi Hassine area witnessed a security campaign coordinated between the police forces and Tunisian customs to inspect a number of warehouses in the area. This led to clashes between customs officers and the youth of the neighborhood, which turned into a violent confrontation resulting in the death of the 19-year-old Aymen Othmani by a bullet fired by one of the officers as he was attempting to escape and not running towards the officers according to eyewitnesses interviewed by the Amnesty International. Aymen did not participate in throwing stones. Instead, he was hiding behind a barrel, and despite his injury and fall, police forces surrounded him and beat him instead of providing immediate medical intervention. After being dragged by his shoulders and beaten, Ayman was taken to the hospital by one of his neighbors several hours after being shot. He passed away in the middle of the night due to two gunshot wounds in his back and leg. The forensic report confirmed that Aymen’s death resulted from being shot at a distance ranging from 20 to 25 meters as the bullet hit the left side of his back between two ribs, tearing the vein directly and causing severe bleeding that the doctors couldn’t stop, despite subjecting the victim to two surgical operations.

On the other hand, the General Customs Administration issued a statement claiming that the officers had abided by the appropriate protocol in using necessary force for deterrence. The statement mentioned that the “patrol attempted to repel the attackers and warn them to withdraw, but they continued their attack to the point of the attempt to clash with the officers and seize their weapons.” Besides, the officers attempted to warn the assailants again to withdraw and give space to the patrol to leave. While the patrol cars were leaving, the officers noticed that one of the assailants had fallen to the ground. However, the bullets on the body of the victim, Aymen Othmani, indicate that he was not heading toward the officers but was in a state of escape. In addition, he was unarmed and did not post any real threat or danger that justified the shooting.

Charges of accidental murder were brought against several customs officers. Yet, Aymen’s mother considered that the charges were not proportionate to the incident and believed that the judiciary conspired and neglected the victim’s rights. Nevertheless, On March 7, 2019, charges of accidental murder were brought against two customs officers, along with charges of illegal use of force against three others. The investigating judge confirmed this, and the case was referred to the criminal department of the Court of First Instance in Tunis 2. Although several years have passed since the incident, the perpetrators have not been accountable or prosecuted.