Former head of Tunisia's Truth and Dignity Commission, Ben Sedrine, arrested over 'falsification'

In Tunisia, prominent opposition figure Sihem Ben Sedrine was arrested on Thursday for allegedly "falsifying" a report during her previous state role. Critics argue that the arrest is politically motivated.

"This decision [to arrest Sedrine] was based on an investigation initiated by the investigating judge of the economic and financial judicial hub, following a complaint from a member of the Truth and Dignity Commission," said Mohamed Zitouna, spokesperson for the Tunis First Instance Court, to local radio Mosaique FM.

The Truth and Dignity Commission (TDC, or IVD in French), established in 2014, was tasked with investigating past human rights violations, recommending reparations and reforms, and issuing urgent reparations.

Ben Sedrine, who led the TDC, is accused of falsifying the Commission's final report on the Franco-Tunisian Bank (BFT) affair.

What is the Franco-Tunisian Bank (BFT) affair?

In 1981, Tunisia sought to privatise the BFT, which had been seized from its French owner in the 1960s.

Franco-Tunisian businessman Abdelmajid Bouden tried to purchase 50% of the bank’s shares through his company, Arab Business Consortium International (ABCI). The state blocked the deal and instead of using the funds to buy the shares, it was placed in the money market and directed to the state-controlled Société Tunisienne des Banques (STB). Bouden sued STB to recover his funds, according to the Swithland-based media Justice info.

In 1987, after Zine El Abidine Ben Ali came to power, the bank was placed under judicial administration, and Bouden was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a regime-controlled court. Meanwhile, the bank issued unsecured loans to Ben Ali's associates, according to the Truth and Dignity Commission's controversial report.

Bouden fled Tunisia and filed a complaint with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in London. In 2017, ICSID ruled that Tunisia must pay ABCI US$1 billion, a huge sum for a country on the brink of bankruptcy.

What did the TDC report say?

Released in 2019, the TCD's final report, under Ben Sedrine's leadership, spans 7 volumes and 3,000 pages. However, controversy arose over page 57 of the corruption section, which details events from 1981 to 2010 related to Bouden's loss of assets, particularly through unsecured loans to Ben Ali's associates.

Ibtihel Abdellatif, former head of the Women's Commission at the IVD, claimed that the version of the report released differed from the one sent to President Béji Caïd Essebsi on December 31, 2018. She accused Ben Sedrine of modifying several pages and adding the controversial page 57.

In 2021, Tunisia opened an investigation into these allegations, leading to a travel ban on Sedrine since February 2023. The investigation is ongoing.

Ben Sedrine, 73, is a renowned journalist, human rights activist, and critic of President Saied. Last year, she wrote an op-ed for The Guardian titled, "A poisonous dictatorship has been built in Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring," accusing President Kais Saied of undermining the country's democracy through his self-coup in 2021.

Saied took office following free elections in 2019 but seized additional powers in July 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree.

Since then, he has extended his grip on the country, including assuming authority over the judiciary in June 2022 and clamping down on criticism and opposition. By February 2023, several political figures, activists, and media personalities critical of his regime had been arrested for "plotting against state security."

"Today in Tunisia, there is no rule of law… just a country living at the whim of its tyrant, the conspiratorial and simplistic dictator Kais Saied", commented Tunisian activist Mustapha Gharbi on Ben Sedrine's arrest.

Several other Tunisian journalists and activists have rallied in support of Ben Sedrine, warning of shrinking freedoms under Saied's rule.