Tunisia’s Justice Ministry denies plans to build new prisons

Tunisia’s Justice Ministry has denied reports in some media outlets and on social media that plans have been made to build new prisons and expand and renovate existing ones at a cost of 566 million dinars ($183 million) under the 2027 budget.

In a statement, the ministry said the reports were based on an inaccurate interpretation of the information presented.

It explained that, during a meeting of the General Legislation Committee on Monday, 2 November, to discuss the Justice Ministry’s 2027 budget, ministry representatives only outlined the total funding allocated to the prisons programme under the proposed budget for that year. They did not announce allocations specifically for building new penal prisons, as some reports had suggested.

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The ministry said the 566.773 million dinars allocated to the Prisons and Rehabilitation Programme for 2027 would not be spent on building prisons. Instead, the amount covers all programme expenses, including staff salaries, prisoners’ food and care, operating costs, maintenance and equipment for prison buildings.

It added that part of the allocation would be used to develop the infrastructure of prison and rehabilitation facilities.

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