Tunisia-Mehdi Ben Gharbia’s defense committee condemns violations of his right to health

Mehdi Ben Gharbia’s defence committee announced that his state of health is declining day by day following his questioning which began last Saturday at 11 a.m., leading to his urgent admission to the cardiology department at Mongi Slim hospital where he spent three days.

Mehdi Ben Gharbia was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday morning, under the request of the public prosecutor of the Sousse court, who issued an arrest warrant against him and asked for his interrogation to be postponed due to his discomfort. After his imprisonment in Messadine jail in Sousse, Mehdi Ben Gharbia’s state of health worsened again requiring his urgent transference to Farhat Hached hospital.

Mehdi Ben Gharbi’s defence committee confirmed that the deterioration of his state of health was due to the long interrogations and the increase of legal proceedings, as well as the persistence of the public prosecutor of Sousse to have him leave the Mongi Slim hospital. despite the gravity of his state of health.

The statement further condemned the smear and disinformation campaigns against Mehdi Ben Gharbia launched by a clan which, despite various cases kept in silence at the Sousse court, has still not been sanctioned. The defence committee declared that the Sousse prosecution service must take accountability for the physical integrity of Mehdi Ben Gharbia since the prosecution induced the disruption of care by demanding that he be discharged from the hospital.

The judicial and financial pole similarly broke the law by deciding to issue a search warrant despite the attendance of the accused in continuous response to all the summons obtained. The committee affirmed that “The Minister of Justice, the Minister of the Interior and the prime minister will have to respond for their actions since they are responsible for the abuses experienced by Mehdi Ben Gharbia, his workers and his family.”

According to the statement, President Kais Saied is additionally responsible as he is supposed to be the guarantor of rights and freedoms, including the right to a fair trial. It added that he will maintain the right to have recourse to international and regional human rights organizations if the grave violations suffered by Mehdi Ben Gharbia persist.