Gharsalloui, who lives with his family in the village of Cherrada, near Kairouan, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was arrested at his home by the anti-terrorist squad on 30 November and taken to an unknown location. In spite of the steps undertaken by his family and his lawyer, his relatives remain unaware of his whereabouts and of the reasons for his arrest without warrant. According to his family, his arrest is part of a broader crackdown conducted by the security services.

The same day, and in the same circumstances, several other people were arrested in the region, including Fadhel Bensalem, one of the victim's cousins, whose fate also remains unknown to his family.

To date, neither Gharsallaoui nor the others victims arrested in Cherrada have been presented before a judicial authority, raising fears that they have been transferred to the Al Gordjani detention centre, which has become sadly notorious in the past months due to several victims's testimonies about the severe tortures that are perpetrated there.

In recent months, many people living in the Kairouan region and in other parts of the country have been subjected to arbitrary arrest and testified before the Tunis Court (competent in anti-terrorism matters) about the severe tortures they suffered from the antiterrorist squads of Al Aouina and Al Gorjani during their detention.

The Tunisian press has also reported that, following the announcement of the results of the 23 November presidential election, hundreds of people suspected of links with Ansar Al Sharia – classified as terrorist by the authorities – had been arrested as part of a broad "sanitation campaign".

Alkarama remains particularly concerned about the important information received in relation to this unwavering campaign of wide-scale arrests and the return to the widespread practice of torture in the country under the pretext of the fight against terrorism.

Although Tunisia has ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in 2011 and adopted, in October 2013, a law establishing a national authority for the Prevention of Torture responsible for regularly visiting, and without prior warning, all places of deprivation of liberty, this instance has not yet been set up.

It has become urgent for Tunisia to take real action to put a definitive end to these practices inherited from the past, by urgently setting up the legal instruments to fight torture and put an end to the climate of impunity currently enjoyed by its perpetrators.

Based on this information, Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment (SRT) to call upon the Tunisian authorities to respect their international obligations, including by placing all suspected persons arrested under the protection of the law and by allowing their families and lawyers to visit them without restriction.

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