Defence Ministry Denies Torture of Army Official Suspected of Terrorist Links

Badri Tlili’s wife, Rachida, holds her husband’s picture (Photo Credit: Jadal.tn)

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence Rachid Bouhoula confirmed today to Tunisia Live that the results of a second autopsy revealed that former Master Corporal Badri Tlili of the national army commited suicide.

The official results of the autopsy contradict previous claims that Tlili died on Saturday, December 29, from the consequences of torture while he was held in a military detention center under suspicion of terrorist links.

“He strangled himself with a wool military shirt, after being investigated by military experts,” added a press release of the Defence Ministry.

According to the same communiqué, Major-Colonel Mokhtar Ben Nasr said that Tlili was summoned to Tunis for an investigation into his relationship with a religious extremist terrorist group that was caught gun-trafficking in the governorate of Jendouba last month.

Tlili’s family denies the official results of the autopsy and claims that the former master corporal died in unknown circumstances and that he was additionally a victim of torture during the investigation.

“I do not accept these false claims [that Tlili strangled himself and was connected to a terrorist group]. How can someone strangle himself and be beaten at the same time on his head and face,” said Tlili’s wife, Rachida, in an interview with Nessma TV.

She added, “He has no relation with terrorism, he does not even pray.”

The Defense Ministry asserted in a press release that the military investigation, which precedes the submission of the case to the judiciary, complies fully with all consideration of the respect for human rights.

“There are no national army prisons, but there are disciplinary detention centers [that operate] in accordance with the rules of conduct in the military establishment,” explained the ministry’s press statement.

The ministry believes that there are certain parties that took advantage of the incident to defame the Defense Ministry’s image and exploited the sensitivities of Tlili’s family.