In the early hours of Monday, 13 November 2023, Youssef Chedli Attia, a researcher in the philosophy of law, was arrested at Tunis–Carthage International Airport and immediately transferred to the Messadine Civil Prison in Sousse. His detention was carried out in execution of two in-absentia judgments sentencing him to a total of four years’ imprisonment with immediate enforcement.

The convictions relate to charges including forming a criminal conspiracy to attack property and persons involving minors under the age of 18, participation in collective disobedience by more than ten individuals without weapons, intentional damage to the property of others, violation of the curfew, and similar offences. These measures were taken without Mr Attia having been formally notified or officially summoned for questioning as a suspect or defendant.

This was confirmed by the victim’s lawyer, Ms Nadia Ouerghi, who stated in her testimony to Intersection Association that the charges against Youssef stem from events dating back to the night of 17–18 January 2021. The case originated from a complaint filed by a representative of the Free Destourian Party following the storming of the party’s premises in the Hammam Sousse district by a group of citizens. She stressed that Mr Attia was not among those involved, a fact corroborated by the interrogation records of the suspects, which do not mention him at all.

According to the same testimony, Mr Attia’s name was linked to the case solely because he protested during a security operation involving the unlawful entry into a neighbour’s home and the physical assault of the neighbour and his son by security forces. Following this protest, Mr Attia and two of his neighbours were arrested, taken away, and subjected to physical abuse inside a security vehicle, resulting in bodily injuries that required several days of medical rest, as certified by a medical report issued by Farhat Hached Hospital on 19 January 2021.

After their release from the Hammam Sousse police station during the night of 17–18 January 2021, the detainees filed a complaint with the Sousse Court of First Instance on 26 January 2021. To date, no investigative or judicial action has been initiated in relation to that complaint.

Mr Youssef Chadhli Attia has remained in detention since Monday, 13 November 2023, pending a ruling on the admissibility of an objection to the first-instance judgment on formal grounds scheduled for 16 November 2023, or alternatively, an objection to the appellate judgment set for 8 December 2023.