Help if you are arrested or detained
British nationals in detention or prison overseas
If a relative or friend has been detained or held in prison overseas, this is the support we can give.
If your relative or friend has asked us to, we will tell you as soon as we can, that they have been detained or held in prison. However, to protect their confidentiality, we will not provide any details of the detention or arrest, or tell you how to contact them, unless they have given us permission.
Prison conditions
We can provide general information about the country involved, prison conditions and the local legal system.
We can put you in touch with the prisoners’ welfare charity, Prisoners Abroad.
If the prison where your friend or relative is being detained agrees, we can pass on any money you want to send to buy prison ‘comforts’, use the phone and so on.
In many countries, mail sent or received by the prisoner will be opened and read by the authorities, and phone conversations may be monitored.
Legal assistance - Legal costs
At the police stage of proceedings you are not allowed legal counsel. The police will take your statement and your answers to any questions they wish to ask, then ask you to sign the typed statement. It will be in Arabic but a translation will be offered and you are not obliged to sign anything you do not fully understand.
At the end of their inquiries, the police may decide to present you before a magistrate who can decide whether and what charges are to be brought against you. At this stage you have a right to legal counsel. We have a list of some lawyers which we can let you have, and, if you wish, we can assist you in engaging the services of the lawyer of your choice. Click here for a list of list of lawyers.
There is no legal aid available to you in Tunisia, so you must expect to pay lawyers’ fees. How much depends on the case itself and the amount of work involved, so it is not possible to give you even an estimate. Talk it over with your lawyer in the initial stages and ask us if you need advice about having funds transferred to Tunisia.
Release on bail
Your lawyer is the person to submit any application for release on bail. He/she does this at the magistrate, or if later, the trial judge, who can take the decision on this. They must always refuse bail to defendants standing trial for drug penalties of mandatory prison sentences.
The judicial system
Trial takes place in the courtrooms of the Palace of justice in the area where the offence took place. Trials are open and hearings take place before a bench of three judges who confer before pronouncing their verdict. Defense counsel and the defendant him/herself are given opportunities to speak, but witnesses are not called. Their statements will already have been read by the judges in the file before them.
Any sentence passed is counted as starting from the date of the initial arrest.
Appeals are allowed and the application to introduce one is usually submitted by your lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer, the prison social service will help you to fill in the relevant papers to submit your own appeal. Appeals have to be presented within 10 days from the date of the court's verdict (this is not always the same day as the trial - judges can reserve judgement for a later date).
At the Appeal Court the bench consists of five judges.
For sentences of more than six months, a system exists whereby the prisoner can apply for release on conditional liberty. The prison authorities and our consular staff will assist with the formalities when the time comes.
The prison system
Imprisonment is generally in cells with a number of other prisoners. There are no single or double rooms. A prisoner is allowed to have food baskets on set days of the week, and visits at set times, usually once per week. Visitors have first to obtain permits from the Central Penitentiary Department in Tunis. The permit issued to a consular officer authorizes the visit to take place in the "parlour" as opposed to the visiting area where family members visit in less privacy. A prisoner's letters have to be read before they are posted on, and similarly the letters received from outside. There are the inevitable delays. Any complaints about a prisoner's treatment can be taken up officially if brought to the attention of the consular office either by letter or during visits.
Visits and consular assistance
While you are being held for questioning or pending trial a member of the consular staff will try to visit you within two days and thereafter at regular intervals, and not less than once a quarter.
We can assist you by informing next of kin, if you wish, and passing on messages to anyone else.
While we cannot pay your legal costs nor fines, nor finance your purchases in the prison shop, we can, in certain circumstances, agree to act as a channel for funds to reach you or your lawyer.
See Also
Useful Links
We can help if a British citizen is arrested or detained overseas