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Report
of the
Tunisia Monitoring Group
Following the
2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
Deception and Lies:
Freedom of Expression in Tunisia Remains under Siege Six Months After
the WSIS
May 2006
Executive
Summary
The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) is a global
network of 72 national, regional, and international freedom of
expression organisations.
This report is based on a fact-finding mission to Tunisia undertaken
from 18 to 22 April 2006 by members of the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring
Group (IFEX-TMG) to follow up on progress made on the status of freedom
of expression in Tunisia after the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) was held in Tunisia in November 2005. The report is also
based on information gathered by phone interviews and exchange of email
made after the mission's date.
The mission was composed of one representative each from the Arabic
Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo), the World Press Freedom
Committee (WPFC), and the World Association of Community Radio
Broadcasters (AMARC).
Other members of the IFEX-TMG are: ARTICLE 19, Canadian Journalists for
Free Expression (CJFE), Index on Censorship, Journaliste en Danger
(JED), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), World Association of
Newspapers (WAN), Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR),
International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, International Publishers
Association (IPA), Norwegian PEN, International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ), International Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions (IFLA).
The principal
findings of the mission were:
· The continuation of the imprisonment of
individuals related to expression of their opinions or media
activities.
· Blocking of websites, including news and
information websites.
· Restrictions on the freedom of association,
including the right of organisations to be legally established, and to
hold meetings.
· Restrictions on the freedom of movement of
human rights defenders and political dissidents together with political
police surveillance, harassment, and intimidation.
· Press self-censorship and lack of diversity
of content in the media, especially in the state-owned papers, radio
and TV stations.
· Attempts to smear the reputations of
activists, which are unlawful actions that are not being investigated.
· Official harassment of attorneys and judges
who press for independence of the judiciary.
· Censorship of books through the legal
submission procedure.
The IFEX-TMG is concerned that the situation of freedom of expression,
freedom of the press, freedom of association and associated human
rights issues remain far below international norms and conventions to
which Tunisia is a signatory, despite Tunisian government assertions to
the contrary.
In particular we
urge:
1. The immediate release of prisoner of opinion Mohammed Abbou and many
others who remain imprisoned for their religious and political beliefs.
2. The termination of all forms of harassment of the six cyber
dissidents known as the Youth of Zarzis and Hamadi Jebali, editor
of the weekly Al Fajr who have been recently released, as well as other
released prisoners of opinion, and political and human rights activists.
3. The Tunisian government to stop censoring books and blocking
websites and Internet communication.
4. International organisations not to collude with the Tunisian
government's attempts to cover up violations taking place in Tunisia,
and to hold the Tunisian state responsible and pressure it to abide by
its international obligations.
A. INRODUCTION:
This is the third report of the Tunisian Monitoring Group (TMG), which
follows the fifth fact-finding mission to Tunisia by members of the
group from 18 to 22 April 2006, followed by phone interviews, five
months after the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was
held in Tunisia in November 2005.
In the report we have noted our concern with the deteriorating
conditions of freedom of expression and related human rights issues in
Tunisia, particularly regarding independent organisations , and the
imprisonment of the human rights lawyer, Mohammed Abbou, for voicing
his opinion in articles posted on the Internet.
Five months after the WSIS, violations of freedom of expression,
freedom of the press, freedom of association and other basic human
rights are still rampant. We thus urge the Tunisian government to take
very seriously the recommendations we are making in this report to
demonstrate its real and immediate intent to remove any obstacles
confronting Tunisian citizens from enjoying their inherent human
rights, as stipulated in international agreements to which Tunisia is a
signatory.
During the latest mission, members of the TMG met with public officials
and members of the opposition, government supported organisations,
independent civil society organisations, the bar association, lawyers,
judges, human rights defenders, and journalists. A member of the
IFEX-TMG mission held a phone interview with a representative of the
Tunisian Association for Journalists (AJT). TMG members welcome the
dialogue with government representatives, in which we can engage—and
will continue to engage—in an open exchange of views.
The TMG mission met with the Minister of Justice and Human Rights,
Bechir Tekkari, and the Director General of the Tunisian External
Communication Agency (ATCE), Oussama Romdhani. Despite the fact that
the IFEX-TMG welcomed the minor improvements that have been made since
WSIS II, such as the release of scores of political prisoners in
February, serious concerns remain with regards to other unfulfilled
obligations incumbent upon the Tunisian government.
The IFEX-TMG voiced its deep concern about holding the second phase of
WSIS in Tunis in November 2005. But many, including high-ranking UN
officials, thought that the decision to hold WSIS II in Tunis would
prompt the Tunisian government to improve its poor human rights record
and to loosen its grip on the media and the Internet. Unfortunately
such expectations were not met.
We call on the international community to recognise the serious nature
of violations taking place in Tunisia and pressure the Tunisian
government to cease 'unlawful' practices perpetrated against virtually
all independent voices. The international community must hold Tunisian
authorities accountable to their international obligations.
In the following sections we set out the principal developments
observed by the IFEX-TMG mission on 18 to 22 April 2006.
B. FACTS ON THE
GROUND
1. Prisoners of
opinion
The IFEX-TMG welcomed the release of scores of prisoners of opinion
during President Ben Ali's latest pardon in February. In previous
reports of the IFEX-TMG we recommended the release of prisoners jailed
for expressing their opinions. We, in particular, recommended the
release of Hamadi Jebali, editor of the weekly publication Al Fajr and
hundreds of prisoners like him held for their religious and political
beliefs and who never advocated or used violence.
We also recommended the release of the six cyber dissidents known as
the Youth of Zarzis who, following unfair trials, had been sentenced to
heavy prison terms allegedly for using the Internet to prepare to
commit terrorist acts.
We hereby acknowledge the release of Hamadi Jebali and the Youth of
Zarzis, but we are seriously concerned with the continual harassment
they face.
In a phone interview with Hamadi Jebali, he confirmed that he still
faces serious harassments. Plain clothes political police are
constantly monitoring him and his family and systematically harassing
anyone he contacts.
"I often feel that I was safer in prison where I spent 15 years and a
half than now with all this harassment, intimidation and attempts to
deny me and my family the right to a quiet and decent life", he said.
On 7 June, Jebali and his wife are due to appear before a magistrate
allegedly for attempting to bribe a prison guard before the end of his
lengthy and unfair imprisonment.
The IFEX-TMG mission is also concerned with the imprisonment of
Mohammed Abbou and many other prisoners of opinion.
During a meeting with the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Bechir
Tekkari, IFEX-TMG mission members were told that that there are no
prisoners in jail whose only crimes are political, a statement which
seemed to confirm allegations of fabrication of criminal charges
against political dissidents and human rights activists.
Mohammed Abbou:
The case of Mohammed Abbou is one of a central issue relating to
freedom of expression in Tunisia. The manner by which Abbou was
arrested, tried and imprisoned only reveals the extent to which
independent voices across different Tunisian sectors are under attack.
During Abbou's trial the investigative judge ordered the removal of the
leader of the defence team - who approached the court as the head of
the Bar Association to organise the defence. When the lawyer refused to
leave he was physically assaulted by police. Lawyers and Abbou's wife,
Samia Abbou, were attacked by plain-clothed policemen, who had been
accused of "taking over the palace of justice" , while attempting to
enter the court. Expressing their profound fear regarding the integrity
of justice in Tunisia and the independence of judges, the Tunisian
Magistrate Association published a statement condemning such behaviour,
an action they continue to pay a high price for.
On 28 April 2005, Abbou was found guilty of publishing statements
"likely to disturb public order" and for "defaming the judicial
process." He was also found guilty of a separate alleged offence of
"violence" in 2002 against a female lawyer apparently close to the
government. However, his arrest on 1 March 2005 came less than 24 hours
after a blocked Tunisian news website ran an opinion piece in
which Abbou criticised President Ben Ali for inviting Israeli Prime
Minister Sharon to attend the WSIS in Tunis.
He was sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment. The
Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Bechir Tekkari, explained that
the alleged violence against a female attorney was the main reason for
his imprisonment. The appeals court confirmed his prison sentence on 10
June 2005 following another trial, described as unfair by local and
international human rights groups and Tunis-based Western diplomats.
Despite the fact that the Minister of Justice and Human Rights has
insisted that Tunisian laws allow criticism in the presence of
evidence, when lawyers submitted official documents proving the
practice of torture in Tunisian prisons, they were not registered or
recognised by the Judge .
Mohammed Abbou's physical assault of the female lawyer in 2002 is
highly questionable. Members of the mission were told by witnesses that
she was sent to provoke him during a meeting of young lawyers. She
reportedly grabbed his shirt tearing the buttons off. Understandably,
he pushed her away. In addition, members of the mission find highly
disputable the fact that it took the authorities, according to Minister
Tekkari, three years to build a case of physical assault.
Abbou is currently imprisoned in the city of Le Kef, 170 km southwest
of the capital, Tunis, near the Tunisian-Algerian border.
Abbou's family has submitted several requests for transferring him to
another prison closer to his family. Such requests have fallen on deaf
ears .
Every Thursday, Samia Abbou, is accompanied by at least one lawyer to
visit her husband in Le Kef. The drive is three hours long and in
winter the roads can be very risky. Abbou's children do not visit their
father except on school holidays as the trip to Le Kef consumes most of
the day.
There have been several reports of Samia Abbou being harassed by
traffic police on her travels to Le Kef. According to witnesses they
are usually stopped more than once, and one time they were stopped 12
times. At one instance, it took the police over 40 minutes to check car
registration papers. It is strongly believed that these harassments are
attempts to delay Samia Abbou from her visitation hours.
During an interview with the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, the
IFEX-TMG mission requested to visit Mohammed Abbou in prison. However
visitation was denied on the basis that Tunisian laws allow only close
members of the family and lawyers to visit a prisoner. Members of the
mission later found that the law allows, under special circumstances,
visitation of friends if the prison director deems it helpful to
the morale of a prisoner whose family does not live close by. When
mission members attempted to meet with the prison director, the
members’ passports were taken but the mission was told 10 minutes later
that the prison director was not on the premise and that no one else
could authorise the visit with Mohammed Abbou.
Members of the IFEX-TMG mission accompanied Samia Abbou on her weekly
trip to Le Kef and were surprised that she was allowed only a 15-minute
visitation. Lawyers and activists joining the three-hour trip, in
addition to Samia Abbou herself, confirmed that during previous visits
she was allowed a mere 2 minutes per visit. This is harassment
when a 6-hour trip is required and 2 minutes are allotted to a visiting
spouse.
Members of the mission strongly believe that the 15-minute visit was
exceptional due to the presence of monitors. Upon the departure of the
mission's members from Tunisia, it was reported that Samia Abbou was
only allowed 2 minutes in her following visit.
Mohammed Abbou stopped the hunger strike he began on 11 March 2006 to
protest his prison conditions. However, he still complains of
maltreatment. He does not have access to medical care. To protest his
dire prison conditions, Abbou refuses to sleep on a mattress until
prison conditions improve.
We find statements made by officials at the Ministry of Justice and
Human Rights to be contradictory that Abbou is kept in the distant Le
Kef prison because conditions there are much better than the prison in
the capital, Tunis.
Youth of Zarzis:
The IFEX-TMG welcomed the release in February of Aberrazak Bourguiba,
Hamza Mahroug, Abdel Ghafar Guiza, Ridha Belhaj Ibrahim, Omar Chelendi,
and Aymen Mcharek, known as the Youth of Zarzis. They were all
imprisoned in 2004 for the following charges:
· Constitution of a gang for purposes of
preparing and committing attempts on person and goods;
· Preparation, transport and possession of
explosives, devices and materials intended for making of such
explosives;
· Theft;
· Attempted theft; and
· Holding unauthorised meetings.
It is reported to members of the mission that the evidence alleged to
have been seized has never been exhibited to the defendants, whose
files their lawyers have never been able to consult.
The members of the IFEX-TMG mission were able to meet with only one of
the Youth of Zarzis who travelled to Tunis for the meeting. Others were
prevented from leaving Zarzis. It was noted that approximately 15
plain-clothed policemen were surrounding the headquarters of the
National Council for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT) where the mission
members were meeting with the dissidents .
Omar Chelendi, now 24 years old, was arrested when he was 20 years and
3 months old. He was released during the latest pardon made by the
President on 27 February 2006. During the interview he spoke of dire
prison conditions. There are serious claims that the Youth of Zarzis
were exposed to harsh torture, including beating and electric shocks.
According to Chelendi, during interrogation he was beaten with a board
that had nails protruding from it. One of the nails entered his left
knee and broke off. When he requested in prison that the nail be
removed, he was given pain medication. Yet the mission members were
advised by the Minister of Justice and Human Rights that medical care
within Tunisian prisons is exemplary, and that if a released prisoner
requires medical attention but can not afford it, the government will
provide it free of charge. No government official has offered to
provide Chelendi with the necessary medical care to remove the
nail. He added that he and the others were hanged by their hands
behind their back. Omar Rached, another member of the Youth of Zarzis,
was reportedly tortured, and was prevented from leaving Zarzis to meet
with the mission. One of the Youth of Zarzis had his penis slammed in a
drawer, and Chelendi says his friend urinated blood for 3 days.
In a phone interview, Omar Rached, who was not allowed to leave Zarzis,
he complained of the continual harassment that he has to face on a
daily basis. He also said that he is not allowed to return to school.
Every time he enters an Internet café he is harassed. Rached
spoke also of torture in prison. He said that he still suffers from
cigarette burns and electric shock marks on his body.
The Youth of Zarzis have been denied matriculation for higher
education. Every day they are required to go to the police station at
Zarzis to sign in and must salute the police officers. They are thus
prevented from leaving Zarzis. When Chelendi went to Tunis seeking
medical attention for his knee (his mother is Portuguese and so
Chelendi thus is allowed to leave Zarzis) he was harassed and has
received several threatening calls on his mobile telephone and in the
hotel.
For six of Tunisia's youth, life has become hell. Now they cannot
continue their education or move around Tunisia freely. They live in a
constant state of fear. A good example of such fear is the fact that
Chelendi is afraid to enter any Internet café. "I don’t
mind his going if he wants to go to prison again," said his father.
Chelendi's family has applied for a Portuguese passport for him, and he
plans to travel there next month. He still considers Tunisia his home
and does not plan to abandon it.
Ali Ramzi Bettibi
Ali Ramzi Bettibi was arrested on 15 March 2005 while he was in an
Internet café and sentenced to four-years imprisonment for
re-posting on a website an article written by an Islamic Jihad movement
promising bloodshed if Sharon attended the WSIS in Tunisia. Despite the
fact that members of IFEX stand strongly against hate speech and abject
calls to violence, they are strong advocates of freedom of expression.
While Oussama Romdhani, Director General of the Tunisian External
Communication Agency claimed that Bettibi was in prison for posting a
"threat saying that Tunisian streets would be awash in blood if Sharon
comes to Tunisia", Bettibi's brother insisted that these words were not
his brother's. According to Bettibi's brother, the article was taken
off the website of an Islamic Jihad movement and re-posted to shed
light on the extent of opposition to Sharon's visit to Tunisia.
On the other hand, there are serious concerns regarding the manner by
which Bettibi was arrested and sentenced. "He was kidnapped
rather than arrested. There was no court order for his arrest. Police
entered our home with no search warrant and confiscated many of his
books and CDs," said Bettibi's brother.
There are claims that Bettibi was ruthlessly tortured during
interrogations. "They put him on an electric chair and threatened to
use it," Bettibi's brother said.
Bettibi has been on hunger strike since 23 March 2006. He went on
strike for not being released after being told that he was among
prisoners pardoned by President Ben Ali. He is also protesting
maltreatment and verbal abuse in prison. Bettibi is currently in
voluntary solitary confinement where he does not have a mattress to
sleep on.
"His health is deteriorating drastically. During my last visit he
vomited blood," Bettibi's brother told members of the IFEX-TMG mission.
Despite his deteriorating health, he is not provided with the necessary
medical care.
2. Internet Blocking
Members of the IFEX-TMG mission discussed Internet blocking with
Tunisian government representatives, particularly with the Director
General of the ATCE, Oussama Romdhani. The January 2005 TMG mission
undertook technical tests on selected Tunisian Internet Service
Providers. They identified systematic Internet blocking which the
IFEX-TMG believes to be operated using Smartfilter software.
Internet blocking was applied to wide categories of sites, but also
including specific Tunisian government-defined URLs. At least two of
the websites affiliated to the three members of the IFEX-TMG mission
were blocked within Tunisia (www.hrinfo.net and www.amisnet.org).
Romdhani insisted that blocked websites are mostly anonymous websites,
"used as venue to slander and smear the reputation of private
individuals, and include threats from terrorist organisations".
Justification for blocking websites were that the "government wants to
protect the people from incitement of evil."
However, the IFEX-TMG mission is concerned with the blocking of several
websites that do not carry any calls to violence. Hate speech is often
in the eye of the beholder. Websites of local, even registered,
so-called legal associations and political parties are blocked.
Neila Charchour Hachicha, founder of the Liberal Mediterranean party,
which is still not registered, complains that the party's website
was blocked after posting a statement issued by the 18th of October
Movement. Only after a statement was issued by the US Department
of State was the censorship on her website lifted. Recently the
party's website has been blocked again.
In addition to blocking websites, most of the visited activists
complained of not having Internet access. Even though several
organisations and activists have a DSL line, they cannot access any
website from their computers.
Some members of the mission attempted to access the Internet from the
CNLT's headquarters but failed to open any website. Similar complaints
were made by Rached Kachana, editor-in-Chief of Al-Maoukif newspaper,
and Neila Charchour Hachicha.
3. Independent
organisations
The Tunisian Human
Rights League (LTDH)
In the previous IFEX-TMG report it was noted that the LTDH was
prevented from holding its Sixth Congress, scheduled for 9-11 September
2005. During this mission, IFEX-TMG members were informed that the LTDH
was banned from holding a solidarity meeting with the Tunisian
Association of Magistrates (ATM) on 2 December 2005. The office was
surrounded by political police. "They did not allow us to enter here at
LTDH headquarters," said Mokhtar Trifi, LTDH president.
The origin of LTDH's problem goes back to divisions among its members
and heads of its branches. Currently, there are 32 court cases against
the elected LTDH board. Even though the schisms taking place within
LTDH might seem an internal affair, the manner by which plain-clothed
political policemen have interfered to forcefully prevent any meetings
from convening raises questions about the extent to which Tunisian
authorities are involved in this matter.
LTDH's board has tried endlessly to solve the problem peacefully.
Directly after the WSIS was convened, President Ben Ali asked the head
of the Supreme Authority for Human Rights and Liberty (a government
appointed council) to submit recommendations in a report on what is
needed to improve the political and human rights conditions in Tunisia.
According to Mokhtar Trifi, LTDH was among the first organisations to
submit their recommendations. To date, no report has been submitted to
the Tunisian President.
A committee of former ministers and heads of LTDH was formed in
December 2005 and met until March 2006. The committee looked into the
matter in dispute and made proposals for both parties. The
government-affiliated group refused these proposals.
Whenever the case of LTDH is raised before government officials, it is
claimed that the matter is of an internal dispute. "If that is the case
then why do plain-clothed political police interfere in our LTDH
affairs?" questioned Trifi.
LTDH has decided to hold a meeting on 27-28 May 2006. As soon as the
decision was made a court case was filed against them and a court order
was issued to stop the meeting. The IFEX-TMG mission hopes that this
meeting will be convened without any police intervention.
The mission met also with a member of the LTDH opposing group.
According to Raouf Jemal, President of the LTDH Sejoumi (neighbourhood
south of Tunis) Section, the reason behind the internal conflict is
that the LTDH board took the decision to dissolve 18 sections in 2002,
reducing LTDH's sections from 41 to 23 sections. Seven of the 18
sections have taken the matter to court.
Jemal claims that the 7 sections agree that there are external
pressures exerted on LTDH's steering committee to make such a decision.
"We can't specify who and what, and there is nothing concrete to blame,
but it's a common opinion among us," he told the IFEX-TMG mission.
The IFEX-TMG urges all conflict parties to work hard to find solutions
to their problem without allowing Tunisian authorities to interfere in
the affairs of LTDH.
The Tunisian
Association of Magistrates (AMT):
Without an independent judiciary, Tunisian citizens have no guarantees
for their rights.
In the September 2005 report, the IFEX-TMG noted that numerous attempts
have been made to destabilise the AMT and to encourage a minority group
of judges close to the government to take control of the AMT. This
happened after the AMT's democratically-elected board spoke out against
attacks on lawyers following the arrest of their colleague Mohammed
Abbou in March 2005. Subsequently, the elected members of the AMT Board
have been denied their right to freedom of assembly and expression.
The April 2006 IFEX-TMG mission met with:
· Ahmed Rahmouni, AMT President;
· Kelthoum Kennou, AMT Secretary General;
· Wassila Kaabi, member of AMT Executive
Bureau;
· Leila Bahria, member of the AMT
Administrative Committee; and
· Raoudha Karafi, member of the AMT Executive
Bureau.
According to Ahmed Rahmouni, the conflict between the AMT and the
Tunisian government started when the current board was elected in 2004
through direct elections, banning the use of proxies to vote.
AMT's statement condemning the unfortunate incidents that took place in
the Palace of Justice during Mohammed Abbou's trial was evidently the
trigger that led to government attempts to destabilise the association.
All of the active judges in the association are harassed on nearly a
daily basis. Many of the judges were transferred to court districts far
from their place of residence, some as far as 300 km away from Tunis.
Work plans are imposed upon them that occasionally require their
constant supervision, "day and night." They are hounded about the
number of hours they work, when it is well known that the majority of
judges’ work is done off the bench.
Members of the AMT board that we have met have complained of constant
political police surveillance. According to one of the judges, she was
called in by the prosecutor who told her exactly who went into her
office and left, who she spoke to and who she did not. "This breaches
the immunity and independence of judges," she said.
Active judges have been repeatedly questioned on issues they find to be
very trivial. They believe that the aim of the questioning is to create
fear among other judges and to compile files against these judges to be
used when necessary. While it is an unwritten rule among Tunisian
judges to have the privilege of going to work whenever they see it
necessary, the “activist” judges were questioned about their attendance
while others were not. Four judges, two of whom are members of the
AMT's Administrative Committee, had their salaries reduced for
absences.
"I am afraid that the constant intimidation will lead to disciplinary
procedures that will threaten our continuation within the judicial
system by either being fired or forced to retire early," Rahmouni said.
18th of October
Movement
Members of the IFEX-TMG mission met with 7 members of the board of the
18th of October Movement.
As the mission was on its way to meet members of the board of the 18th
of October Movement, it received a phone call saying that the board
members had been prevented from entering the headquarters of one of the
opposition political parties. Upon the arrival of the IFEX-TMG mission,
a large number of political policemen dispersed at the sight of the
mission representatives. During the interview, the seventh member
phoned to say that he was being forcefully banned from entering the
building. Immediately, both Francesco Diasio of the World Association
of Community Radio Broadcasters and Sally Sami of the Arabic Network
for Human Rights Information rushed downstairs to see what was
happening. A plain-clothed policeman released his firm grip on the arm
of the interviewee as soon as he saw the two IFEX-TMG representatives
approach him.
The board of the Movement was established on 4 December 2005, two weeks
after the WSIS was convened, with the main demands of freedom of
expression, freedom of press, and freedom of association.
Since the group’s establishment, the government has reportedly
intentionally influenced media not to cover their activities. The only
exception is the small-circulation opposition weekly Al-Maoukif
newspaper whose editor is a member of this group.
Members of the Movement believe that there are two main reasons why the
government does not want any media coverage of them. First, the
movement includes members of the Islamic movement in Tunisia. Second,
the general sentiment is that this movement is the first real attempt
of a group composed of different inclinations and trends.
Besides attempts to prevent any meeting, every time the Movement tries
to hold a popular event, police surround the venue of the event and
prevent popular participation.
4. Journalists and
Dissidents:
Journalists still suffer from massive restrictions on their work.
According to Lotfi Hajji, an independent journalist and chair of the
Tunisian Journalists Syndicate (SJT), after the WSIS, there has been a
total crackdown on journalists. "It became impossible for us to meet
and we were forced to work in clandestine conditions," said
Hajji.
Those journalists supporting the SJT, which the government still
refuses to recognise, face daily harassment in an attempt to lower
their morale. So far 160 journalists have signed the petition for the
establishment of the Syndicate. The Tunisian government sees SJT as a
political party rather than a legitimate journalists’ union, commenting
that AJT (the government-approved journalists’ union) has approximately
four times as many members.
Lotfi Hajji is under close surveillance. The members of the mission
noted that a car was following Hajji to his meeting with the group.
On 11 May, Hajji was interrogated by the police about an alleged secret
meeting he held on 27 April at his home in Bizerte. The police held him
for four hours before releasing him. According to Hajji, this latest
episode of police harassment has something to do with his activities as
head of the SJT and its new report on attacks on the press, in addition
to his active membership in the LTDH.
The case of Slim Boukhdeir, who ended on 9 May a five-week hunger
strike which he started to protest being fired from Al-Shorouq
Newspaper, remains unclear for the IFEX-TMG mission members. Despite
the fact that Al-Shorouq is free to choose not to renew employment,
many activists in Tunisia believe that the decision to fire Boukhdeir
was influenced by the government. Boukhdeir is known for his critical
articles published in Al-Arabiya.net.
Besides noting multiple cases of Tunisian government harassment of
independent journalists, members of the IFEX-TMG mission are extremely
concerned with the return of the use of tactics which fabricate moral
scandals against political activists in an attempt to smear their
reputation.
Mohammed Mokhtar
Jelali
Mokhtar Al-Jelali is the husband of Naziha Rajiba (also known as Om
Zied), a human rights activist and a journalist who herself suffers
from persecution.
Jelali, a respected lawyer and former Member of Parliament, has fallen
victim to attempts to smear his reputation starting in March 2006.
Jelali recently resigned from a minor opposition political party loyal
to President Ben Ali. His resignation came after he attempted in vain
to encourage his party, the Democratic Unionist Union, to act as a true
opposition party.
Early last March both Rajiba and Jelali received anonymous phone calls
threatening that Jelali's reputation would be smeared if he did not pay
100,000 Tunisian Dinars. Callers claimed that they had pornographic
video cassettes and photographs of Jelali.
"The government has the necessary equipment to fabricate pornographic
material. They did that in the early 1990s," Rajiba said.
According to activists interviewed, such methods were used in the early
1990s against former Prime Minister Mohamed Mzali and Islamist figures
by a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Interior by the name of
Mohamed Ali Ganzoui. It has been reported to the IFEX-TMG mission that
this official has recently been installed as secretary of state for
security. Now these severe harassment measures appear again,
applied against those who stand for freedoms enshrined in the Tunisian
Constitution but are suppressed by political police. The tapes are
being distributed again. Both Rajiba and Jelali have received cassettes
and photographs mailed to them from France.
A complaint was filed with the Public Prosecutor as soon as the threats
were made; however, to date, no investigation has begun. Officials have
denied in the press that this issue might have any political basis.
During the IFEX-TMG’s meeting with ATCE’s Director General Romdhani, he
insisted that the Tunisian government is against assailing the privacy
of anyone. "It's in our constitution," he said.
Naziha Rajiba also confirmed that in 2004 a law was ratified by
President Ben Ali prohibiting the exploitation of a private aspect of
one's life for any goal whatsoever.
Members of the IFEX-TMG mission find it surprising that at the same
time as government officials and Tunisian legislations uphold the
sanctity of one's personal life, that no action has been taken by the
prosecutor to investigate the attempts to smear Jelali's reputation.
Neila Charchour
Hachicha
Neila Charchour Hachicha's father was involved in politics. When she
told him that she will eventually follow his path, he advised her not
to go to prison for anything but holding on to her principles and
opinions. When she asked him whether imprisonment will definitely be
her fate if she enters into politics, he told her yes.
"He was right," she said.
Four years ago Hachicha applied to register a political party. She
cannot officially establish her party because government authorities
have refused to hand her the receipt that proves that she has applied
for registration. In the meanwhile she set up a website.
When she posted a statement made by the 18th of October Movement, her
website was blocked.
Her major crime was that she spoke of the situation in Tunisia when she
took the platform during a conference held by the American Enterprise
Institute in Washington, in the United States. Three weeks after she
returned to Tunisia, charges were made against her husband in a real
estate case. Her husband is now facing a possibility of 10-months
imprisonment.
Political police, according to eye witnesses, stole her car. When she
filed a complaint, she was accused of defaming the police.
On her daughter's engagement night, she received phone calls from
guests telling her that they were told not to attend the party.
According to her, plain-clothed political policemen surrounded her
house. A few days after the engagement party, fabricated immoral
pictures of her daughter were distributed among a wide sector of
people.
5. Broadcast
Pluralism
The IFEX-TMG has consistently requested during all of its missions to
receive the written criteria for applying for a license to operate an
independent, private radio or television station. The IFEX-TMG has been
told that since private broadcasting is in the early stages, such
criteria are in development. The IFEX-TMG requested during prior
missions and requests again to know the criteria for selecting the
applicants for the two private radio stations and one television
station that have been authorised.
It is incumbent upon the Tunisian government – that claims to be
pluralistic – to assure that all radio and television station
applications will be treated fairly and that the process will be widely
distributed in advance, completely transparent, pluralistic and
apolitical. Truly independent bodies should be selected to handle
frequency allocation matters as well as the license renewal
process. Licenses should not be granted solely on the basis of
the prospective owner’s close relationships within the government.
Radio and television stations should be encouraged to cover local,
regional and international news without fear of censorship or
self-censorship.
6. Press Freedom
At the same time as members of the IFEX-TMG mission welcome the
decision to completely abolish the depot legal, there are still
concerns of continuous restrictions imposed on the free press.
According to Rachid Khechana, editor in chief of the weekly opposition
Al-Maoukif newspaper, opposition and independent newspapers are still
confronting many challenges imposed by the government.
"Yes, we don’t have to submit our newspapers to be reviewed before they
are distributed, but they are collected again from the market," he
said.
On a random basis both Mark Bench, of the World Press Freedom
Committee, and Sally Sami, of the Arabic Network for Human Rights
Information, asked several news-stands if they have Al-Maoukif
newspaper. Sellers did not know the newspaper.
According to Khechana, only major book stores would have the newspaper
but will only sell it to known customers as they fear getting into
trouble.
In an interview with Romdhani of ATCE, he claimed that there have been
advances and measures taken since the last IFEX-TMG mission in
September 2005.
"There has been an increase in subsidy given to opposition newspapers,
and opposition members have been introduced into membership of the
Higher Communication Council (CSC), an advisory body on media and
communication," he said.
He also said that a fund to aid journalists and other media
professionals, a project demanded by the government-controlled Tunisian
Journalist Association (AJT), is being considered. The IFEX-TMG mission
members say that the best action the Tunisian government can do is to
cease forever the political police’s intimidation of journalists and
allow them to write what they wish, as journalists do in any democratic
country.
Members of the IFEX-TMG mission also noted more balanced local news
coverage in very small circulation newspapers – incidentally,
unavailable in and unknown to kiosks around Tunis. However, such
progress was not noticed in the larger circulation
government-controlled newspapers.
Independent journalists and activists, on the other hand, report that
the government is still maintaining its grip on newspapers.
"Our press has just one rule and function: to glorify our president, to
give him the illusion of a superman, of a genius politician, a man who
is full of wisdom, and that everything in our country is going very
well because he is there," said Mohamed Talbi, President of the
Observatory for Freedom of Press, Publishing and Creation (OLPEC), an
IFEX member based in Tunisia. “A journalist is free to glorify
our leader without restrictions. Freedom of the press is freedom of
glorification in Tunisia," he added.
It has been noted from documents presented to members of the mission
that the General Media Administration authorises what press releases
are to be printed in newspapers.
While Romdhani insisted that independent newspapers should seek private
advertisements rather than to continue demanding public advertisement
and subsidy, Khechana says that private advertisements are influenced
by the government. Private companies are punished, he said, if they
purchase ads in opposition newspapers, usually in the form of following
up on unpaid taxes.
There are also serious concerns about government intervention in the
publishing of statements made by activists and opposition political
parties. These claims were made by the AMT, Khechana, and several other
members of the Tunisian civil society.
Journalists’ Press
Credentials
The issue of press cards for professional journalists remains a matter
of concern for the IFEX-TMG mission members. The committee in charge of
granting professional press cards is state-controlled and constitutes
one of the serious obstacles of true press freedom in Tunisia.
According to Romdhani, based on a Tunisian law dated 15 November 1975,
“professional journalist identification cards” are granted by a
committee chaired by a senior official from the secretariat of state
for information, and including three representatives of all
national media and three representatives of professional
journalists from among representative media associations.
The three representatives of 'all national media' within this committee
are appointed by the government. They are often members of the
state-run Tunisian Association of Newspapers Editors, which was
expelled in 1997 from the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) for its
lack of action while press freedom was under constant attack. The three
representatives of professional journalists are members of the board of
the state-run Association of Tunisian Journalists (AJT), which
ironically awarded President Ben Ali in 2004 its Gold Quill for Press
Freedom. As a result, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
suspended AJT's membership.
It is strongly believed that journalists critical of the government or
who oppose receiving government instructions on what and how to write,
like Sihem Ben Sedrine, Naziha Rajiba, Lotfi Hajji, Slah Jourchi,
Mohammed Fourati, Lotfi Hidouri, and others are arbitrarily denied
their press cards. Ironically, according to reliable sources in
Tunisia, many who have nothing to do with journalism, including plain
clothes political policemen, are often granted press cards.
It is ironic that the findings of the IFEX-TMG mission, with regards to
press freedom, are in total contradiction with President Ben Ali's
statement on World Press Freedom Day on 3 May.
He said that freedom of expression and that of the press are
"fundamental rights of the individual." He added that "the
diversification of the media landscape will be pursued and that the
spaces of expressions will be enriched by the opening up of the media
scene to the private sector."
With no free press, Tunisia cannot guarantee democracy. Despite
government claims that the government guarantees the right to freedom
of expression, including freedom of the press, documents provided
demonstrate otherwise. Until freedom of press is guaranteed and
practiced, it will remain difficult to describe the Tunisian government
as a government that upholds international human rights standards, in
particular with regards to freedom of expression.
7. Book Censorship
While the dépôt légal system was abolished for
periodicals in May 2005 (a measure which the IFEX-TMG welcomed in its
September 2005 report), it is still used as a form of censorship of
books in Tunisia. In a country that prides itself in producing 1,400
titles a year for a population of just over 10 million, there are
actually only 200-300 new titles produced per year; the rest are mainly
reprints and children’s books. Publishers which dare to publish books
the authorities disapprove of not only see these books being blocked at
the printer’s, but also have to face other forms of harassment,
including forms of fiscal harassment.
We therefore continue to recommend the Tunisian government to release
banned books, stop using the legal submission procedure as a censorship
tool, and conform to international standards for freedom of expression.
Amending Article 8 of the Press Code by lifting the obligation for the
printer to deposit copies of a printed book with the local prosecutor’s
office, the Ministry of the Interior and the chamber of deputies would
be seen as a step in the right direction.
C. CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Six months after the WSIS, freedom of expression and all related rights
remain continually under intense siege.
Those targeted by state attacks are not only the uncompromising group
of activists but also include officially registered groups and parties.
Contrary to what many Western and UN high-ranking officials
expected, the WSIS did not provide the impetus for the Tunisian
government to make major inroads in its improvement of its records of
freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of association and
all associated human rights.
The minor progress made appears mostly to have been cosmetic.
Ironically, this was confirmed after Tunisia has been elected a member
of the newly established UN Human Rights Council. Tunisia increasingly
has continued to violate the rights related to freedom of expression.
It should be made clear that internationally recognised human rights
standards are not principles open to bargaining.
As in previous reports, the IFEX-TMG must reassert that it would be
extremely difficult to achieve freedom of expression in light of a
judiciary system that lacks independence and where there is significant
official disrespect of the rule of law. With virtually no independent
media to hold government and public servants accountable and with no
freedom of association, there can be no guarantees for Tunisian
citizens to actually enjoy their inherent right to freedom of
expression.
Based on incidents witnessed by members of the IFEX-TMG mission and
according to statements made by the wide variety of civil society with
which we met, we strongly recommend that the international community
play a larger role in influencing Tunisia to establish a true
democracy.
D. ANNEXES
Annex I
The three following documents were submitted to concerned authorities
at different intervals since the arrest and imprisonment of Mohammed
Abbou.
Document1: Request to transfer Mohammed Abbou from Le Kef to the prison
in Tunis. According to Abbou's lawyers and wife several requests have
been submitted but none was taken into consideration.
Document 2: Complaint submitted to the Minister of Justice and Human
Rights by Samia Abbou on 8 April 2006. In it Samia Abbou complains of
the maltreatment of Abbou in prison and the fact that he is denied
access to medical care and check-ups. In the complaint she also
mentions the fact that Abbou was physically assaulted, not to mention
the verbal harassment that both Samia Abbou and Mohammed Abbou face
during visits.
Document 3: Complaint against the director of Le Kef for the
maltreatment of Mohammed Abbou.
Annex II
National Legislations
In the field of criminal justice and prison reforms
1993
Article 48: Individuals licensed to visit a prisoner:
1. The spouse
2. Parents and grandparents
3. The prisoner's children
4. Paternal uncles and aunts
5. Maternal uncles and aunts
6. Legal guardian
7. In-laws
8. An individual with relation to the prisoner of which the general
administration of prisons and rehabilitation agrees on for cases when
the prisoner does not have relatives living in the area.
…
Article 49: On an exceptional basis individuals other than relatives
can be licensed to visit the prisoner or individuals that have moral
influence on the individual. License for visitation can be given either
by the General Administration for Prisons and Rehabilitation with
regards to sentenced prisoners or by the Judicial Authority with
regards to those provisionally detained.
Annex III
A Sample of how the General Media Administration intervenes in what to
publish or not publish in Tunisian newspapers.
The Attached copy is a press release issued by the Green Party for
Progress. On the release is the stamp of the General Media
Administration and the signature of its director, Mohammed Zein Omara.
On top of the signature "to be used" is written.
The last paragraph of the press release says:
"The Green Party for Progress hopes that the coming period will witness
the upholding of supreme state interests, a bringing of side disputes
to an end, and parties who have chosen to serve foreign bodies and
agendas to stop political biddings and stand in support of state
efforts to solve major issues and find solutions to all the challenges
that face the country …"
Annex IV
Correspondence with Oussama Romdhani Secretary General of the Tunisian
External Communication Agency (ATCE)
1. Email sent by
Romdhani on 26 April 2006:
Dear Mr Bench, Mr Diasio and Ms Sami:
Hello.
Thank you for a very useful meeting last Friday.
Following on our last meeting, I would like as agreed to add the
following remarks.
1. The makeup of the higher communication
council was widened, since December 31, 2005, in order to include
members of the opposition: Mr Hichem Hajji (from the People’s Unity
Party) and Mr Laroussi Nalouti (from the Movement of Social Democrats).
Other members of the council include since then Mr Abderrahmane Kraiem,
(former member of the executive committee of the Human Rights League),
Mr Faouzi Bouzaiene (president of the Tunisian Journalists’
Association) and Mr Mohamed Hamdane (Dean of the school of journalism).
The council is chaired by Dr Youssef Alouane (an academic).
2. Based on Tunisian law dated November
15, 1975, “professional journalist identification cards” are granted by
a committee chaired by a senior official from the secretariat of state
for information, and including three representatives of all
national media and three representatives of professional
journalists from among representative media associations. The committee
meets every year before January 20th. An applicant must provide:
a birth certificate, a nationality certificate, a copy of his or her
judicial record, and a declaration stating that journalism is his or
her principal occupation and that the majority of his or her income
emanates from such an occupation. He or she should include a work
certificate from his or her employer. He or she should also specify
other activities if it is the case. Academic requirements for
those applying for the first time are: either a bachelor’s degree, or a
high school diploma and a five-year experience, or a one-year
university studies and a 4 year-professional experience, or
two-year-university studies and a three-year-professional experience,
or three year university studies and a two-year-professional
experience. (The 1975 law and the bylaws of the special committee go
into further detail. An accurate idea about eligibility to the
journalism card conditions would obviously require studying such texts
more closely).
3. The labour code (1963) also defines the
exercise of the journalistic profession.
4. The launch of three private
broadcasting stations (2 radio and one TV), in the last few years,
demonstrates the effective commitment by the authorities to the process
of introduction of the private sector into radio and television
broadcasting.
5. Regarding the general scope of your contacts
in Tunisia: I appreciate your readiness for dialogue, but I do have to
express my concern over your unavailability to meet with the Tunisian
Association of Journalists or with the Association for the Protection
of Arab and African Journalists (Ms Houda Ben Othmane). I understand
you are free to choose with whom you want to meet, but I think you
would agree with me that getting a balanced and accurate picture hinges
upon hearing differing points of views.
More from me later. Please let me know if I can be of any further help.
Best regards,
Oussama Romdhani
2. Email sent by
Romdhani on 27 April 2006:
Dear Mr Bench and friends:
I hope you have received my first message of yesterday.
I saw today the preliminary remarks of your mission. I regret that it
contains more of the same and that even the sense of nuance is, in my
opinion, lacking.
Not listening to a representative variety of NGO's can obviously lead
to such a lopsided view of Tunisian civil society and its relationship
with the authorities.
You mention that you have told a "government official" that Mr Abbou
should be freed and that "opologies" should be extended. I hope you
have noted that it has been explained to you by this official and
others that Mr Abbou was found guilty of serious physical assualt
against a colleague and that he was tried and convicted according to
due process of law, and that he has enjoyed as a detainee all the
rights guaranteed by the law of the land.
Generally speaking, all individuals (should and do) receive the same
treatment and enjoy the same guarantees. The rule of law obviously
requires from all the respect of the law.
As another prelimanry reaction to your preliminary findings, I would
like to reject once again any notion of "harrassment" by the
authorities of civil society. Political parties, organizations and
associations are able to organize their activities and express their
views freely. Furthermore, associations enjoy the support of the state
for the conduct of their activities.
Thank you for the opportunity of sharing these thoughts with you.
Best regards,
Oussama Romdhani
3. Reply sent to
Romdhani on 28 April 2006
Dear Mr. Romdhani,
We very much appreciate this opportunity to dialogue with you.
Our mission was limited in time, and because of that, we felt that the
best use of our time would be to interview those who would provide
information and opinions different from those we generally can find in
Tunisian newspapers.
During our meeting, you had committed to provide us an explanation for
the specific reasons the websites Mr. Difasio and Ms. Sami brought to
your attention. These websites are www.hrinfo.org and
www.amisnet.org.
While we were unable to fit into our schedule meetings with the AJT and
our friend Houda, we interviewed from early morning until late into the
night those persons we felt it most important to interview. Some
were much more important than others. Though we did not meet with
all the groups you suggested, we are certain of our findings, based on
lengthy, searching interviews. We wish to make absolutely clear that we
witnessed plain-clothed (political) police harrassment of activists,
and there was one experience of our being followed in an automobile to
one meeting which we find intimidating pressure by the Tunisian
authorities.
The aim of our mission is not to condemn the Tunisian government. We
are desirous of being unbiased and neutral. However, the Tunisian
government's behavior (which we experienced personally and heard
numerous examples of) makes it nearly impossible for us to believe
government claims of progress in the fields of press freedom, freedom
of expression, freedom of association, independence of the judiciary,
and human rights situation in Tunisia. No amount of "balanced"
interviews can change our minds about what we saw, heard and
experienced.
We did note in our news release--and will do so in more detail in our
final report--that there is more balanced local news reporting in at
least one very small circulation opposition newspaper. This is
progress, an improvement over past practices. When Ms. Sami and I
endeavored, however, to find copies of this newspaper at a random kiosk
in Tunis, the attendant had never heard of the newspaper.
Further, you will be pleased to know that Francesco Diasio will be
conducting a telephone interview with a member of the steering
committee of AJT so that we can include his, and the positions of his
organization, in our final report.
We still have not received concrete or complete answers on the
requirements for establishing a private TV or radio station. What
is the transparent program the Tunisian government is implementing to
assure that all broadcast applicants will be treated equally and
fairly? If they will be treated the same way that applicants for
newspapers have been treated (as you know we have personally
experienced), we express our concerns if there will ever be, under
current circumstances, any independent private broadcast stations
established in Tunisia. We will have some comments regarding this
issue below.
We have done some serious in-depth research and investigation and have
the following additional comments regarding your messages to us:
It is our opinion that the establishment of the Higher Communication
Council (HCC) in 1989 coincided with the beginning of the deterioration
of the freedom of expression situation and the muzzling of the press in
Tunisia. This advisory body has fewer prerogatives than the
Higher Information Council (HIC) which was, before President Ben Ali
came to power, a kind of forum where officials, editors and journalists
used to publicly discuss ways to improve the media situation. Long
before it totally lost its independence in the early 1990s, the
Tunisian Journalists Association used the defunct Higher Information
Council to call upon the government to loosen its grip over the media
and to campaign for independent journalism.
Independent-minded journalists, editors and journalism professors
maintain that President Ben Ali's HCC is a secretive body which, unlike
his predecessor's HIC, is not open to referrals from professionals and
the general public. They unanimously called it a step backward in
comparison to the HIC that was active under former President Habib
Bourguiba.
Regarding the widening of the makeup of HCC in 2005, to include members
of the "opposition": the president of the state-run Tunisian
Journalists Association; the director of the Press Institute (school of
journalism), who is appointed by President Ben Ali upon recommendation
from the minister of higher education we feel is purely cosmetic.
Mr. Mohamed Hamdane’s official position is director of the Press
Institute. He has never held the position of dean. Moreover,
deans, such as of the Faculty of Arts or the Faculty of Law and
economics, are elected by professors. However, directors of
higher education institutes, like Mr. Hemdane, are political
appointees. Our sources report that the appointment of directors
of higher education institutes, as well as directors of secondary
schools, is based on their allegiance to President Ben Ali and the
ruling party.
The former member of the executive committee of LTDH, Abderrahmane
Kraiem, has been included in the makeup of the HCC after he distanced
himself from the harassed leadership of LTDH. He is currently one
of its critics. His articles critical of LTDH are run by the
state-controlled media, which we are advised have firm instructions to
ignore LTDH letters, statements and activities.
The two members of the "opposition" belong to two minor political
parties which have been supporting President Ben Ali since he became
president in 1987. Like the word independent, the word opposition has a
different meaning from the one agreed upon in dictionaries when used by
Tunisian government officials. You can understand our deep
concern when we feel that the Tunisian government establishes groups to
promote the government’s agenda and call them NGOs and blatantly blocks
the formation and legalization of truly independent organizations as
NGOs. In truth, the few "legal" NGOs since 1989 have been
harassed by political police as much as have the "illegal" Tunisian
NGOs.
We find that the committee in charge of granting "professional
journalist identification cards" is totally controlled by the
government and constitutes one of the serious obstacles of true press
freedom in the country. Many journalists are denied facilities
and the right to do their job if their articles are not to the taste of
those in power.
The three representatives of the so-called "all national media" are
appointed by the government. They are often members of the
state-run Tunisian Association of Newspapers Editors, which was
expelled in 1997 from the World Association of Newspapers for its lack
of action while press freedom was under constant attack. The
three representatives of professional journalists are members of the
board of the state-run (our opinion) Association of Tunisian
Journalists, which ironically awarded President Ben Ali in 2004 its
Golden Quill for Press Freedom.
Journalists critical of the government or simply opposed to the idea
of receiving government instructions on what and how to write,
like Sihem Ben Sedrine, Neziha Rejiba, Lotfi Hajji, Slah Jourchi,
Mohamed Fourati, Lotfi Hidouri and others are arbitrarily denied the
"professional journalist identification cards." Ironically,
according to reliable sources in Tunis, many who have nothing to do
with journalism, including plain clothes political policemen, are often
granted the "professional journalist identification cards."
IFEX TMG noted and welcomed the fact that a second private radio
station has been licensed and a private television station has also
been authorized, despite the fact that their owners, like the owner of
the first radio station, appear (because of lack of clear and
transparent licensing criteria) to have been handpicked among the loyal
supporters of President Ben Ali.
We reiterate the need for fair and transparent licensing procedures and
recommend the establishment of a truly independent regulatory body to
oversee licensing of independent broadcast media.
We appreciate your readiness to dialogue and would like to thank you
once again for your assistance and suggestions regarding groups or
persons you deem likely to help IFEX TMG receive a “balanced and
accurate picture” of the freedom of press, freedom of expression,
freedom of association and related human rights situation in Tunisia.
However, due to professional commitments of IFEX TMG members, our
missions are often brief and we must necessarily prioritize whom we
should meet during our missions. We tend to put on top of our list of
planned meetings groups and individuals widely acknowledged by IFEX's
72 members as independent or subject to gross attacks on their basic
right to press freedom, free expression and association and
movement. During our last mission, we were blocked from meeting
groups that fall under this category. Obviously, this does not
speak well of the freedoms we hear so much about from the Tunisian
government, those guaranteed by your constitution.
While agreeing with you that “getting a balanced and accurate picture
hinges upon hearing different points of view” is important, we find it
more important to give priority, in addition to meeting government
officials, to those groups and persons widely believed to be
independent or under attack, rather than to groups whose agendas seem
to be in harmony with the government's restrictive policies and
strategies.
Sincerely,
Mark Bench, Executive Director
World Press Freedom Committee
On behalf of the Members of the IFEX TMG Mission of April 2006
4. Response of
Romdhani on 28 April 2006:
Dear Mr Bench:
Thank you very much for your questions and comments.
I have a few observations to make obviously in response.
For practical reasons (having to do with travel commitments till
Monday), please let me know what kind of deadline you are on before
your final report.
Best regards and have a good Labor Day,
Oussama Romdhani
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