Arrested at his home at 2am, Rhimi was taken to the security services' facilities of Kasserine - a neighbouring town of Mount Chaambi, in West Tunisia - where he reported having been subjected to the most serious acts of torture, from the 'falaqa' to sexual abuses, as well as threats of violence against his family. He was then forced to sign a written confession without the possibility to read it.

Presented before the judge five days after his arrest, Rhimi rejected all charges against him. Although the magistrate noticed visible signs of torture on the accused's body, he did not consider it appropriate to ask for an investigation, making himself clearly responsible of a violation of Article 12 of the Convention against Torture. It was upon insistence of Rhimi's lawyer that the magistrate finally agreed to order a medical examination.

The medical examination was completed by the doctor of the Al Mornaguia prison, where the victim was transferred after several days of incommunicado detention. Conducted as a mere formality, this examination cannot be regarded as an independent medical examination as it was carried out by the prison's doctor, who has neither competence in forensic medicine, nor can be qualified of independent, since he is an employee of the prison's administration. Juan Méndez, the Special Rapporteur on Torture, has himself emphasized the need for forensic experts' independence, claiming that, in case of torture allegations, it "should be mandatory to submit the person to an independent assessment, external from prison medical services."

In the current context of the fight against terrorism in the country, the authorities have become more and more tolerant of practices that clearly violate the most fundamental human rights, often endorsing these highly questionable practices. Preventive detention can last up to six days during which the defendant are generally exempt from the protection of the law. During this period where detainees are denied all contacts with the outside world - a context very conducive to the use of torture - victims are, in fact, tortured almost systematically, as well as forced to sign confessions that can then be used again them.

Alkarama regrets the deterioration of human rights in Tunisia and the systematic violations under the pretext of combating terrorism, and expresses its fears of seeing a return to the old regime's ways and practices. Alkarama calls on the Tunisian authorities to remedy to these violations and to implement their commitments under the Convention against Torture.

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