Mohamed Ali Ben Khemis

Mohamed Ali Ben Khemis, a 31-year-old Tunisian man, had suffered since 2018 from severe psychological disorders and episodes, and was being treated at Razi Hospital, where he had been admitted on more than one occasion. He died on 26 August 2026 inside Mornaguia Civil Prison in suspicious circumstances.
On 26 July 2026, Mohamed Ali was arrested after his home was raided. From the start of his detention, his family explained his health condition to the authorities concerned and handed over the medication he took regularly and his disability card. Despite this, he was held for four days without his family knowing his whereabouts and without being given his medication, and the family was not allowed to appoint a lawyer until ten days after his arrest.
On 14 August 2026, he was committed to Mornaguia prison. The family stated that he did not receive the treatment and medication he needed despite his deteriorating mental state. When they visited him, they found him in a deteriorated mental and physical state, crying and asking for his medication, before he lost consciousness during the visit. On 26 August 2026, they were informed that he had been transferred to Charles Nicolle Hospital in a critical condition; when they went there they could not find him, and the prison administration later informed them of his death and that they would find him in the mortuary. On receiving the body, the family observed marks suspected to be signs of violence. They engaged a bailiff to examine the body on the day of the burial, but he refused to hand the examination report to the family and the lawyer. The family was told that the cause of death was “sunstroke”, and as of the date of documentation they had not obtained the forensic medical report.