"THE GARDENS OF CARTHAGE" IS A NEIGHBOURHOOD IN THE NORTH OF TUNIS
FIRST BUILT FOR DIGNITARIES OF THE OLD REGIME
IT WAS MEANT TO BECOME A MODERN, ENTERPRISING AND RICH CITY
IN DECEMBER 2010, AN IMMOLATION SET OFF THE TUNISIAN REVOLUTION
AND THE FALL OF BEN ALI
CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD CEASED IMMEDIATELY
NOW, CONSTRUCTION WORKS ARE RESUMING LITTLE BY LITTLE
Get out,
Disperse everyone,
Get lost!
Did he have a family?
I think he has two children, but they're in Europe,
He didn't have issues with the workers?
No,,,
Anyone he insulted or owes money to?
No, nothing at all, Nothing like that,
He was self-sufficient,
and he feared God,
He wasn't in any trouble,
He never mentioned immolation or suicide?
No, never,
No, never, He barely ever left the building he guarded,
He was a pious man, He couldn't have killed himself,
When we heard the news,,, We couldn't believe it,
It is shocking,
May God forgive him,
How useful bludgeons are!
It's just to fight off the stray dogs
that hang around at night,
Other than that, building sites are always quiet,
Did you see a man
you aren't used to seeing recently?
No, nobody comes here,,,
There are only the workers who come in the morning
and leave in the afternoon,
What about Gadour?
Did he go away? To return to his native village?
No, He never went any further than the café to get a cup of tea,
Or he would get bread and harissa,
Then he'd come back, This was his sanctuary,
- His sanctuary? - Yes, his home,
- Take this back, - Thank you,
May God help you,
Don't worry about it,
The guy was depressed, He just killed himself,
Are there tensions between Tunisian and sub-Saharan workers?
Rarely,
Just drunken disputes, That's all,
Nothing serious,
So”?
The workers don't think he could have killed himself,
Do you think he set fire to himself?
A man his age,,,
Why self-immolate out of public view
unlike the others, doing it in town or in front of everyone?
Might as well have hung himself,
If it's a suicide, someone must have manipulated him,
Then it must have been filmed, It'll end up on social media,
Anyway, he was as unpleasant as ever,
Bouhlel? You know him,,, He loves you!
No, he's furious, The Commission has summoned him,
They want to interrogate him,
Why don't you take some time off? Until this blows over,
Forget about it, Batal,
I'm not going anywhere,
Do you want to come and see the girls?
- No, some other time, - See you tomorrow,
I hope your day wasn't too tiring,
It was OK,
It's going to stick,
Hello,
Yes, how are you?
Can you deliver some food to me?
Don't forget to eat,
You're welcome, Mr, Jilani,
Good evening,
We don't see you here anymore, Don't you pray?
I do pray, but I haven't had time to come because of work,
What about the watchman who set himself on fire?
We're working on it,
It's unclear, We don't think he was alone,
Sort it out quickly,
If it gets out, the Commission will make him a martyr,
Bouhlel has been summoned, by the way,
That hungry man,,,
We'll protect him,
And Fatma?
What about Fatma? She's on our side,
The thing about her dad can't,,,
Don't get dragged in,
If you feel like things are getting too hot for you,,,
Get away,
Is that clear?
Yes, sir,
ASHKAL
He used gasoline to set himself on fire,
But there is no trace of bruising, Strange,
What do you mean?
People who are burning always struggle and bump into things,
It's instinctive,
It's to get away from the pain,
But he stayed still, as if he has surrendered to the fire,
Was he drugged?
No traces of drugs in his blood,
And no traces of fabric on his skin,
- Yes, his clothes were next to him, - What else?
I can't say, because of the state of the body,
It was a suicide, nothing more,
Listen, You don't need to come with me,
Why?
I know how to talk to Bouhlel, We'll be able to close the case,
How long are you going to hide me, Batal?
Until the matter with the Commission is over,
Hi, guys,
All right,
Thank you,
Her name was Hajer Mahjoub,
She was 18,
Same story, Found naked, Burned alive with gasoline,
There was also a man's jacket next to her body,
- Let's go and see her body, - We can't,
- Why? - She's already been buried,
What?
Bouhlel took her body to Ben Younés,
A real-estate developer,
Hajer was one of his maids,
Why did no one tell us?
Forensics will send us a report and photos,
Do you think that's fucking normal?
Don't talk to him,
- You could have let us know, - Bugger off,
This is my neighbourhood,
I carried out an investigation before I let you know,
And?
We're looking for two workers
who disappeared the night of the murder,
We know they got drunk and raped the girl,
Then they burned her so as to leave no proof behind,
The coroner said there were no signs of rape or assault,
Do you know if she was seeing anyone?
A local worker, for instance?
You know, at that age,,, kids are very secretive,
She wasn't allowed to have people over,
She didn't even see the gardener, my husband takes care of that,
She has left a huge vacuum,,,
Luckily Fanta still works here,
Hajer was free to do as she pleased,
We didn't follow her around,
Do you have children?
Our eldest daughter lives in Paris,
Our son Younés is finishing high school,
He spends a lot of time alone in his room,
He has been deeply affected,
If she didn't go out or see anyone,,,
Did she seem depressed?
We never sensed she was depressed,
Quite the opposite, she seemed happy with us,
We found this watchman burned to death in the neighbourhood,
Did you know him?
Maybe he knew Hajer?
I sort of knew him,
I meant to buy the building he kept,
But I don't think he knew Hajer, no,
I suppose this incident isn't good for your business,
Is that why you kept his death a secret?
Batal? Listen,
This is no way of working,
It's not proper,
This man is boosting the economy here
and you come to accuse him like that?
Why did you hide this from us?
What's your problem?
The two cases are not connected,
When we catch the suspects, they'll admit they raped and killed her,
The watchman committed suicide!
Two immolations, same area, and less than a week,
There's no connection?
Admit it, He's giving you money,
What is your problem? You think you can talk to me like that?
Did you hear that, Batal?
Her father wants to put us all in jail,
And you've accepted to work with this bitch?
You know what?
- You and your father can get fucked, - That's enough!
What are you playing at?
What am I playing at?
Did you hear him?
He's covering for Ben Younés!
OK, So what?
In the name of God Almighty,
Welcome, everyone,
Let's open the first session
of the "Truth and Dignity" Commission,
In the coming months,
we will listen to the victims and the families of the murdered innocents,
and we will identify the abuses of the police and the state
with the aim of bringing as many cases as possible to justice
so that the culprits may be judged,
whether they have fled or are still in office,
It is time to make up for the past
and to reconcile citizens with our country,
I will now yield the floor to Mr, Lotfi Ayed,
one of the founding members of the Commission,
Welcome,
After years of efforts and struggles,
the public hearings are open at last,
I am honoured to yield the floor
to our first witness,
journalist and activist, Mohammed Jbeli,
Hello,
What we experienced under the dictatorship
is very painful for me to express,
The injustice and oppression,,,
Give me a kiss,
Hi,
Ah!
You're here!
I wanted to come and see you,
It's an important day for our country,
that couldn't be reconstructed
without uncovering the atrocities committed during these dark years,
such as arbitrary imprisonment, abductions,,,
Is that Fatma's father?
Yes,
What a shitstorm,
The country needed it,
The culprits have to pay,
We didn't do what we wanted to,
We were following orders,
I saw one of the accounts earlier,
Interrogators gouged a kid's eye out,,,
Not in front of the kid!
It may be time for you to get a new job,
Smaller,
Even more,
Fatma, that's not a face, We can't work with that,
Shall we print it and try like this?
You never know,
What do you think?
You want to print it like this?
Yes,
GADOUR NAFTI
HAJER MAHJOUB
67 YEARS OLD, WATCHMAN,
And Hajer?
18 YEARS OLD, MAID FOR THE BEN YOUNÈS,
It's no use, They won't say anything else to them,
We need to lock these men up, Mr, Jilani!
You have 15 minutes,
They will be tried tomorrow,
So under the influence of alcohol, you grabbed the girl,
She resisted, you killed her, and then set her on fire?
I swear we didn't do anything, We didn't go near her,
We just wanted to help her,
Help her,,, How?
We were drinking in the wasteland,
We saw two people arrive from afar,
We thought they were just looking for a quiet place to,,,
- You know,,, - And then what?
She took her clothes off,,,
That's when we saw the fire,
It was as if the man who was with her,,,
gave her fire,
Gave her fire?
How so? With a lighter or a candle?
With his hand,
With his hand? Is that the best lie you can think of?
I swear, he gave her fire with his hand,
Go on,
When the girl started burning,,,
She didn't move, She didn't scream,
She didn't struggle,
She was calm,
Then, I took my jacket off to put out the fire on her,
but I didn't manage it,
And the man?
The man who was with her?
He disappeared,
Disappeared? Are you fucking with us?
Did he look like this?
- We didn't see his face, - Look again,
It was too dark,
We didn't do anything,
I swear, They're trying to pin this on us,
Shut up! You'll make us cry,
Your 15 minutes are up,
Why didn't he say,,, "Set her on fire"?
He said, "He gave her fire",
Stop it, They were talking nonsense,
Does he burn his hand and pass on the flame with it?
What is it? Witchcraft?
The guy must have doused her with gasoline
and thrown something burning on her, If he even exists,,,
I can feel they're not lying,
And they're talking about the man I saw,
This is sheer madness,
What do I tell Jilani? We're after a little-eyed sorcerer?
Who can "give fire" with his hand?
Hajer died like the watchman,
Naked and without struggling,
Hold on, it's Jilani,
Yes,
We don't think it was them,
Bouhlel is wrong,
They claim there was another man with the victim,
He may be the one we're looking for,
OK, We'll comb through the area,
Stop,
Good evening,
Get up!
What can we do for you?
- What are you doing here? - We work here, We're keeping watch,
- On the building site? - Yes,
- Is everything going OK? - Yes, fine,
- Nothing unusual? - No, thank the Lord,
- May God help you, - Thank you, brother, You too,
Thank you,
- Hello, - Hello,
Have you seen this man around here?
No, not at all,
Thank you,
Have a good day,
Hello,
Have you seen this man?
No,
Thank you, goodbye,
Hajer was there when I got to the Ben Younés',
She showed me the ropes,
I didn't know anyone when I arrived,
If you know something, you have to tell me,
I might lose my job,
I'll keep it between you and me,
Hajer was very strange,
She was always lost in thought,
I noticed burns on her arms and her stomach,
She said it was nothing,
She was seen with a man on the night she died,
Do you know if she was seeing anyone?
There was a man,,,
He sometimes came to pick her up at night,
She would go to meet him,
He'd stand far away, in the wasteland, and wait for her,
Does he look like this?
I've never seen his face,
I thought he was a local worker,
- She seemed,,, - In love?
Fascinated, I'd say,
Did she ever speak of him?
No, she was very secretive about their relationship,
Do you know where they'd go together?
To one of the empty buildings in the area,
The one where the watchman self-immolated?
I don't know, There are so many,
This is Hajer's phone, She gave it to me before she died,
Mine was broken,
I thought you should see her messages,
Get a fire extinguisher!
Lassaad?
- Where is it? - Top floor,
The first victim is a man in his twenties,
He and Lassaad were found naked and burned,,,
Like the watchman and Hajer,
I hope I can tell you more after the autopsy,
Thank you,
Get everyone out,
Let's secure the building
and wait for more orders,
Great work!
One less cop,
Your father will be pleased,
Shut up!
Well done!
Is now a good time for this? Stop making a fuss!
Calm down,
Sweep the building,
Look around the building site, Whoever did this is close by,
Think you're clever, don't you?
In this series of murders,
one of the victims is a police officer,
All authorities have been called upon to uncover the truth,
and their efforts are focused on a terrorist lead,
It's another blow for the police
as the Commission has just published
a first list of presumed culprits among police forces,
These cases have been passed on to the Home Secretary
who hasn't commented yet,
How are you?
I tried to call many times,
I was close by, I wanted to see you,
I have to close up, I don't have time,
Want me to wait for you?
Honestly,,,
I don't want us to be seen together,
What do you mean?
With everything that's going on,,,
I don't want to be seen with a cop,
No of fence,
Things are a mess, what with Lassaad's death,
The police inspectorate could respect that,
Things need to change,
These immolations prove it,
All right, we're working on it!
Your information about Bouhlel was valuable,
He is indeed involved in corruption,
He enables the sale of public property,
OK, What do you want?
My bosses want to overthrow Jilani,
- That's not what we had agreed, - It's enough,
After everything he's done,,,
Do you know what the risks are for me?
Do you know what can happen to you if you don't talk?
Get a grip, Batal, Remember who you were,
It's your only way out,
You know it,
In response to the terrorist threat
responsible for the wave of immolations,
The government is calling for "unanimous support for police forces"
and has decided to adjourn the Commission for Truth and Dignity,
granting police unions what they petitioned for,
Following this decision, several clashes have broken out
between citizens and police forces,
- What do you need? - A dozen eggs,
Get a fire extinguisher!
The car's registration papers burned up,
but we found his clothes next to the car,
His phone, too, Here,
What do we know about him?
Adel Mzoughi, 42, He was an English teacher,
He led a quiet life, All his neighbours say so,
This way!
What is that?
Find out whose ID this is,
Guys! There's another one here!
The immolation cases are all connected,
The victims' phones are full of videos of immolations,
All sent from the same phone,
But it's a private number,
I am sure it's the man seen with Hajer the night she died,
What, then?
Are we looking for a lunatic who sets people on fire?
He doesn't set them on fire,
He manipulates them into doing it,
We found Hajer and the watchman's ID cards,
And the ID of the man we found near Lassaad,
If we look, we'll find the teacher's ID,
And?
Does he want to make martyrs of them?
- Is this actually a terrorist unit? - I don't think so,
If it isn't terrorism, is it political?
No, There would have been demands,
We must track the number sending the videos,
I've asked the anti-terrorist service for help,,,
They said no,
Because I'm the one who asked,
OK,
Lower your flashlight!
Batal, he's down there!
No name, no fingerprint,
Even his phone burned,
We have nothing on him,,, except that he is about 30,
But at least we got him,
If it were up to me, I'd unplug him,
Excuse me, doctor,
- Do you think he can recover? - His body has suffered serious harm,
This isn't his first time self-immolating,
Are you sure?
We have found several scars from old burns,
However, there was no trace of fuel on his body,
How did he burn without gasoline?
No idea,
That was Jilani,
He wants a report, He's organizing a press conference,
We'll share the spotlight with the Anti-Terrorist Brigade,
We also have this room, in a more traditional style,
It is different to the other ones I have shown you,
Everything here is in an Arabic style,
The chairs, columns, mouldings,,,
the decoration on the ceiling,
- Mummy, can we buy it? - I hope so, honey,
- Do you like it? - Yes, it's very elegant,
I'm glad you like it,
Believe me, if these weren't such hard times,
we wouldn't be selling it,
- How many chairs? - 600,
There's the ground floor, and the floor above too,
Feel free to go upstairs and see,
It's so clean!
- Do you have your own waiters? - Yes, 24 waiters,
The whole staff, Waiters, but also maitres d'hotel, managers,,,
Two hostesses, doormen,,,
Is there a lift?
Of course, For elderly women and disabled people,
So everyone can enjoy the first floor,
- Is there a parking lot? - Yes,
- What do you think, brother-in-law? - It's nice,
Are you OK, Lilia?
I hope you can buy it, if you like it,
Are you all right, Madam?
A glass of water, quick!
Breathe properly,
She has your temperament,
I hope you'll have one, one day,
She looks like her mother,
I'm off,
- Stay a while longer, - No, no,
- Hello, - Hello,
We didn't think he would, but he's improving quickly,
He might make it,
- Has he said anything? - No, he hasn't spoken,
After a shock like that,,,
They have to learn everything again,
If he wakes up, it'll be a new life for him,
- Goodbye, - Goodbye,
The police are criticized by the Commission,
The police have made a great effort since the Revolution,
The proof is that we have caught a dangerous terrorist
who burns the police and the citizens,
This is not the subject!
We know the police union has been pressuring the government
to freeze the Commission,
We cannot talk about transitional justice
without judging the officers who committed the abuses,
If nothing changes, self-immolations won't stop,
Stop making everything about terrorism!
Thank you, but the case is on hold,
Jilani is being praised by the media since your suspect was arrested,
He is untouchable, for now,
So what?
You need to sit tight,
It's not over,
You're with us now,
Take care, Batal,
There are more archives upstairs!
- What's going on? - Bugger off!
What are you doing?
Why are you dragging your feet?
Are you sleepy?
Let's zip your coat up,
- Who's going to tell you a story? - Nobody,
Traitor!
We're colleagues!
Not in front of my daughter!