The Tunisian association Takato (Crossroads for Rights and Freedoms) published, on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, a note titled “Sihem Ben Sedrine: From the path of transitional justice to judicial harassment.” This document, presented in Tunis, reviews the situation of the former president of the Truth and Dignity Instance (IVD), who has been the subject of six criminal proceedings since 2023. The NGO traces Ms. Ben Sedrine’s passage from witness to defendant and questions the respect for fair trial guarantees, in a political context marked by tensions between the authorities and the actors of the democratic transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Takato note, which relies on judicial documents and monitoring of hearings, the first restrictive measures against Sihem Ben Sedrine date back to 2021. However, it is from February 2023 that the former president of the IVD was formally indicted in six separate cases, all linked, according to her, to her term at the head of the IVD (2014-2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chronology established by the association shows a progressive intensification: a travel ban in March 2023, house arrest in the summer of 2024, followed by long and repeated interrogations. In November 2024, Ms. Ben Sedrine was placed in pretrial detention, before being released in February 2025 under judicial supervision. Hearings have been regularly postponed, with some now scheduled for 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The association also notes procedural difficulties: the multiplication of cases for facts stemming from the same mandate, conflicts of jurisdiction between different Tunisian courts, and detention conditions it considers worrying given the age and health of the person concerned (75 years old).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the six cases, one of the most sensitive concerns the publication of information on the Franco-Tunisian Bank (BFT) in the IVD’s final report. The former president is accused by the prosecutor’s office of having disclosed “unverified data.” Takato recalls that this report was officially adopted and published by the IVD before its dissolution, as part of its legal mandate to reveal serious violations and corruption under the former Ben Ali regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The association emphasizes that Sihem Ben Sedrine was merely exercising the prerogatives attached to her position. It considers that prosecuting her amounts to weakening the entire transitional justice process \u2013 a viewpoint not shared by the judicial authorities, who reaffirm the principle that no one is above the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Created in 2014 after the 2011 revolution, the Truth and Dignity Instance was tasked with investigating abuses committed between 1955 and 2013. Its final report, submitted in 2019, was hailed by some international organizations but criticized internally, including by part of the judiciary. Since then, several of its members, particularly its former president, have faced prosecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This situation occurs in a political climate where President Ka\u00efs Sa\u00efed, elected in 2019 and who has consolidated his powers since the summer of 2021, has regularly criticized the legacy of the transition. The government claims it does not interfere in judicial affairs. However, organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly expressed concerns about the rollback of achievements in transitional justice and public freedoms in Tunisia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the six proceedings against Sihem Ben Sedrine continue without any final judgment having been rendered yet, the question remains: Is Tunisia still able to guarantee the independence of its judiciary in cases with high political sensitivity, or is the penal tool being used to replace the democratic debate on the legacy of the transition? The outcome of these trials, expected no earlier than 2026, may provide a first answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigating judge of the financial judicial division decided on Tuesday to postpone until May 26, 2026, the hearing dedicated to the interrogation of Sihem Ben Sedrine, former president of the Truth and Dignity Instance (IVD). This decision, made in Tunis, comes as the former magistrate has been the subject of six separate criminal proceedings since February 2023. The new postponement, which the judge did not publicly justify, further lengthens a procedure that the association Takato (Crossroads for Rights and Freedoms) has already described as “judicial harassment” in a note published on April 21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Tunisian association Takato (Crossroads for Rights and Freedoms) published, on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, a note titled “Sihem Ben Sedrine: From the path of transitional justice to judicial harassment.” This document, presented in Tunis, reviews the situation of the former president of the Truth and Dignity Instance (IVD), who has been the subject of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics"},"yoast_head":"\n