Tunisian military court prosecutes two lawyers over torture accusations

Two Tunisan lawyers, Abderraouf Ayadi and Najat Al-Obeidi, are to face a military investigating judge on 17 December for accusing a security official of torturing their clients.

In their judicial plea, the two lawyers accused the state security official of torturing their clients during their arrests, which date back to before the Tunisian revolution in 2011.

The head of Tunisia’s Wafaa opposition movement, Ayadi said in remarks to Quds Press that he will not attend the military court on 17 December and instead intends to travel to Sidi Bouzid province in central Tunisia in order to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Tunisian revolution which overthrew President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

“I do not have an option, I will go to Sidi Bouzid to celebrate the revolution’s anniversary. The trial is a test for my strength and I will not be intimidated by it,” he said.

Ayadi described the charges against him as “false”, and said that “they want to face the defence, which wants to uncover the truth and defend the oppressed. The corrupt regime is trying to return.”

Ayadi added that he regrets the fact that the only political party that has not issued a statement reagarding his case was the Ennahda movement.

“When the word spread about the case, so many officials and parties expressed solidarity with me including former President Dr Moncef Marzouki and Tunisia’s Congress for the Republic Party, but not Ennahda,” he said.