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  Tunisian Government Should Immediately End Harassment of Human Rights Defenders (10/31/07)  HRF's Julia Fromholz analyzes the regime and the US government’s relationship with it on the 20th anniversary of the coup (11/7/07) 
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Alert Issued: June 6, 2007 UPDATE: On July 24, 2007, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the republican system in Tunisia, President Ben Ali ordered the release of Mohamed Abbou on parole. HRF welcomes the initiative to release Mr. Abbou and hopes it will be followed by other positive gestures toward Tunisia’s human rights movement by the government.Tunisian human rights defenders who met with and assisted researchers from Human Rights First and Front Line during a recent joint mission to Tunisia are facing increasing harassment and repression. On May 24, 2007, imprisoned human rights lawyer Mohamed Abbou was forcefully removed from the prison’s visiting room after his wife Samia informed him that representatives from Human Rights First and Front Line were accompanying her in her trip from Tunis to the Kef prison. The following week, prison authorities threatened to forbid her from visiting her husband if she mentioned human rights-related issues or informed him of the support he is getting from international human rights organizations. Human rights activist Lassad Jouhri, who was planning to accompany Human Rights First and Front Line to the Kef prison, was detained by police for several hours and severely beaten. He suffered two broken fingers. Dozens of security officers have been surrounding the office of the National Committee for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT) and preventing its members from entering the building since May 19, 2007. This measure clearly aims to punish the CNLT for the assistance it provided to the two international organizations during their mission. Support Tunisia’s embattled human rights community by calling on President Ben Ali to immediately cease harassment and attacks against human rights defenders.
Background: Following a joint Human Rights First and Front Line mission to Tunisia that took place from May 19 to May 24, 2007, human rights defenders who met with researchers from these two international human rights groups or helped them in preparing and conducting their mission are facing persistent harassment and persecution. The five day mission conducted by the two organizations aimed to gather information about the situation of human rights defenders in Tunisia. On May 24, 2007, prison guards forcefully removed imprisoned human rights lawyer Mohamed Abbou from the prison’s visiting room less than a minute after his wife Samia had arrived as soon as she mentioned that delegates from Human Rights First and Front Line were accompanying her in her trip from Tunis to Kef. Mohamed Abbou is serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for exposing torture in Tunisia in postings to a blog. Following an unfair trial in April 2005, Mohammed Abbou was imprisoned in Kef, a town that is more than 170 kilometers (100 miles) from his family home in Tunis. This is in itself a punitive measure that makes it difficult for his family to visit him. After a 3- hour drive to Kef, they are only allowed to see him for 15 minutes each week. Human Rights First is calling for Mr. Abbou’s immediate release from prison. The following week, during her visit to the Kef prison on May 31, 2007, Samia Abbou was harassed by prison authorities who threatened to forbid her from visiting her husband if she discussed human rights-related issues with him or informed him of the support he is getting from international human rights organizations. During this visit Samia’s meeting with her husband took place in the presence of 11 police officers who were listening to their conversation and taking notes. Furthermore, since Human Rights First and Front Line visited Samia Abbou at her home in Tunis on May 23, 2007, at least four security agents have been permanently posted in front of her building in what appears to be an attempt to intimidate her and her young children. Last week, her 14-year old son was even followed by security agents while he went out for a walk in the neighborhood. This is not the first time that Samia Abbou has faced harassment and intimidation. For instance, in December 2006, while on her way to visit her husband with other human rights defenders, she was brutally assaulted and beaten by a group of forty men in front of several police officers, who looked on without intervening. On the morning of May 24, 2007, Tunisian human rights defender Lassad Jouhri was arrested in front of his home in Den Den, in the suburbs of Tunis, by approximately 40 plainclothes police officers. Mr. Jouhry, a former political detainee and founding member of the Association for the Support of Political Prisoners in Tunisia (AISPP) was pulled into an unmarked police car and stripped of his sandals and the crutch he uses to get about since he has been partially disabled as a result of torture and mistreatment he suffered during his previous detention. Police took Mr. Jouhri to the Mannouba police station where he was detained for twelve hours. The day before his arrest, he had agreed to accompany the researchers from Human Rights First and Front Line in their trip with Samia Abbou to the Kef Prison. During his detention, Mr. Jouhry was severely beaten and two of his fingers were fractured. At the police station, Mr. Jouhry was questioned about his human rights activities and his intention to accompany Human Rights First and Front Line to the Kef prison. Abderrraouf Ayadi, a human rights lawyer who accompanied Human Rights First and Front Line to the Kef prison, found out on the morning of May 24, 2007 that his wife’s car had been vandalized. Moreover, the offices of the National Committee for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT) has been surrounded by dozens of security officers who have prevented its members from entering the building since the beginning of Human Rights First and Front Line mission on May 19, 2007. The CNLT assisted the two groups in organizing their joint mission to Tunisia. The harassment and attacks against human rights activists that took place during and after the Human Rights First and Front Line joint mission to Tunisia is consistent with a pattern of ongoing repression that members of the Tunisian human rights community and their families have been enduring for years. Since coming to power in a bloodless coup in 1987, President Zine El Abdine Ben Ali has failed to deliver on initial pledges to promote democracy and the rule of law. His rule has become increasingly authoritarian. No serious political opposition is permitted to form. The ruling party controls the parliament and the President himself routinely wins re-election by gaining in excess of 90% of the vote in rigged elections. The judiciary is manipulated by the executive branch and independent judges have been removed from the bench. The press and broadcast media are tightly controlled, and the authorities make vigorous efforts to restrict internet communications and limit access to websites with independent news about Tunisia. Human rights advocates have been a particular target of repression, with individual activists targeted for prosecution on fabricated charges and subject to arbitrary travel restrictions, physical assault by state agents and defamation campaigns in the media. Human rights organizations have also been restricted. Independent groups that are critical of the government’s human rights practices have been refused legal recognition and their activities are habitually obstructed and restricted by the authorities. Sample Letter His Excellency Mr. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Your Excellency, I am writing to express my deep concern about the ongoing harassment and repeated attacks against human rights activists that followed the Human Rights First and Front Line joint mission to Tunisia that took place from May 19 to May 24, 2007. On May 24, 2007, imprisoned human rights lawyer Mohamed Abbou was forcefully removed from the prison’s visiting room less than a minute after his wife Samia had arrived, as soon as she mentioned that delegates from Human Rights First and Front Line were accompanying her in her trip from Tunis to Kef. The following week, during her visit to the Kef prison on May 31, 2007, prison authorities again harassed Samia Abbou and threatened to forbid her from visiting her husband if she discussed human rights-related issues with him or informed him of the support he is getting from international human rights organizations. During this visit Samia’s meeting with her husband took place in the presence of 11 police officers who were listening to their conversation and taking notes. Furthermore, since Human Rights First and Front Line visited Samia Abbou at her home in Tunis on May 23, 2007, at least four security agents have been permanently posted in front of her building in what appears to be an attempt to intimidate her and her young children. Last week, her 14-year old son was even followed by security agents while he went out for a walk in the neighborhood. Mohamed Abbou has been wrongfully imprisoned in reprisal for his legitimate non-violent activities as a human rights defender. He should be released from prison immediately and unconditionally. On May 24, 2007 in the morning, Tunisian human rights defender Lassad Jouhri was arrested in front of his home in Den Den in the suburbs of Tunis by approximately forty plainclothes police officers. Mr. Jouhri, a former political detainee and founding member of the Association for the Support of Political Prisoners in Tunisia (AISPP) was pulled into an unmarked police car and stripped of his sandals and the crutch he now uses since being partially disabled as a result of torture and mistreatment he suffered during his previous detention. Police took Mr. Jouhri to the Mannouba police station where he was detained for twelve hours. The day before his arrest, he had agreed to accompany the researchers from Human Rights First and Front Line in their trip with Samia Abbou to the Kef Prison. During his detention, Mr. Jouhri was severely beaten and two of his fingers were fractured. At the police station, Mr. Jouhri was questioned about his human rights activities and his intention to accompany Human Rights First and Front Line to the Kef prison. Abderrraouf Ayadi, a human rights lawyer who accompanied Human Rights First and Front Line to the Kef prison, found out on the morning of May 24, 2007 that his wife’s car had been vandalized. Moreover, the office of the National Committee for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT) has been surrounded by dozens of security officers who have prevented its members from entering the building since the beginning of the Human Rights First and Front Line mission on May 19, 2007. Your Excellency, the harassment and attacks against human rights defenders to prevent them from pursuing their peaceful and legitimate activities and to deter them from meeting and cooperating with international human rights groups are serious violations of the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998. Article 5 of the Declaration states: “for the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels... to form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations, associations or groups” and “to communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organizations.” Article 12 provides that: “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to participate in peaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” and that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration.” As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Tunisia should behave as a model in its support for human rights defenders and their activities. Instead, Tunisia has a notoriously poor record with respect to its treatment of independent human rights activists. The incidents that have occurred around the Human Rights First and Frontline mission to Tunisia are emblematic of this situation. Your Excellency, I strongly urge you to intervene without delay to:
- ensure that those responsible for the arrest and physical assault against Lassad Jouhri are held accountable for their actions. Thank you for your attention to these pressing matters. I will continue to monitor this situation closely. CC: Hi Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ghannouchi His Excellency Mr. Bechir Tekkari |
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Tunisian Defenders Punished for Cooperating with International Human Rights Groups 