The Tribunal of Catania received the appeal pursuant to Articles 35 and 35 bis of Legislative Decree 25/2008 submitted on 4 January 2022 and a request for suspension of the enforceability of the contested measure which was the inclusion of Tunisia in the list of safe countries of origin pursuant to Article 2 bis of Legislative Decree No. 25/2008.

The Tribunal of Catania extensively referred to the provisions of the Asylum Procedures Directive to state that the applicant has a burden of proof for a specific allegation  as to the subjective or  objective reasons for which a country cannot be considered safe. Such burden of proof, in view of the peculiarities of the international protection procedure, certainly do not exclude the powers and duties of ex officio investigation and the acquisition of updated information on the situation of the country itself (art. 3 of the Legislative Decree no. 251 of 2007 and art. 8 of the Legislative Decree no. 25 of 2008). The Tribunal of Catania made specific reference to country of origin information, and to the socio-political situation in Tunisia and found that, although there are no situations of indiscriminate violence resulting from an  armed conflict,  the security situation appears to be seriously deteriorated. There has been an increase in protests, triggered by the crisis political, social and economic crisis that the country is going through (Tunisians oppose the extraordinary measures adopted by President Kais Saied from 25 July 2021 and demand a return to the democratic transition path taken following the 2011 Revolution, denouncing a violation of rights and freedoms, within the framework of a regime close to dictatorship, and dictatorship, and demanding respect for human rights and the Constitution)

In addition, the UN recently expressed concern following the arrest of  Noureddine Bhairi, former Minister of Justice and Ennahda Party official, and of Fathi al-Baladi, whose release or detention according to legal provisions has been requested, and on 11 January 2022 Liz Trossel, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that developments in Tunisia during the previous month had aggravated serious concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation in the  country.  More generally, the High Commissioner views with fear the actions of the Tunisian internal security forces, is also concerned about "the stifling of forms of dissent in Tunisia", allegedly perpetrated abusing anti-terrorism legislation, and using military tribunals to allegedly prosecute citizens.

Considering the above, the Tribunal of Catania suspended the enforceability of the contested measure because  the situation in the country of origin appeared to overcome the presumption set out in Article 2 bis of Legislative Decree 25/2008. Finally, the Tribunal ordered that the application and this decree to be notified to the Ministry of the Interior, at the competent Territorial Commission for the fulfilment of the requirements set forth in paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 of Article 35 bis of Legislative Decree No 25/2008, and for fixing a hearing for the parties.