January 13, 2004

Human rights defenders in Tunisia face persistent harassment and obstruction. The targeting of human rights defenders for threats, violence and intimidation against themselves and their family members; the interception and blocking of telephone and e-mail connections; their periodic prosecution and imprisonment on bogus charges; the obstruction of independent human rights organizations seeking to register as lawful associations, all belie the government’s claims to be committed to human rights principles.

The U.S. government has close relations with Tunisia. In a recent visit to Tunis in October 2003 Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and North African Affairs, William Burns characterized the bi-lateral relationship as “strong and mutually beneficial.” Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is scheduled to visit Washington D.C. on February 17, 2004, where he will meet with President Bush and congressional leaders. In view of the administration’s adoption of a “forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East” that includes a strong commitment to human rights promotion in the region, it is to be hoped that during his visit President Ben Ali will hear a clear message from U.S. leaders that attacks on Tunisian human rights leaders, like this one on Sihem Ben Sedrine, must end.

Ms. Ben Sedrine is one of Tunisia’s most prominent human rights defenders and has been targeted by the authorities on many occasions due to her human rights work. She has been arrested, charged, imprisoned, physically attacked, threatened and slandered in the state-controlled press, as well as having her offices raided and her colleagues threatened. She is one of the founding members of the CNLT as well as a former member of the leadership of the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH), Tunisia’s oldest and largest human rights organization. The CNLT has been denied registration by the government and operates without legal status, putting its members in a precarious position. The LTDH functions under close surveillance from the government, which frequently harasses its members and interferes with its activities.

Human Rights First condemns the apparently unprovoked assault of Sihem Ben Sedrine and expresses its concern once again about the continuing abuse of human rights defenders in Tunisia. The attack on Ms. Ben Sedrine follows other physical assaults of human rights lawyers in December 2002, and the ongoing harassment of Judge Mukhtar Yahyahoui. See Human Rights First letter to President Ben Ali, January 16, 2003. Ms. Ben Sidrine was previously arrested in June 2001 on her return from travel to Europe where she had criticized the lack of independence of the Tunisian judiciary.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

Please write to Tunisian President Zine-al-Abidine Ben Ali demanding a full investigation into the attack on Sihem Ben Sedrine and the prosecution of all persons responsible. Call for an end to all forms of harassment, persecution and violence directed against human rights defenders and full implementation of the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. Remind the Tunisian authorities of their obligation to comply with the provisions of the Constitution and international human rights law concerning freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly, freedom from torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention.

Please also write to the White House, through Elliot Abrams Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on the NSC for Southwest Asia, Near East and North African Affairs, urging that President Bush and other U.S. officials makes clear their concern for the situation of Tunisian human rights defenders during President Ben Ali’s forthcoming visit to Washington.

Elliot Abrams
Special Assistant to the President and
Senior Director on the NSC for Southwest Asia, Near East and North African Affairs
National Security Council
Old Executive Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20506

Should you require more information, please contact the Human Rights Defenders Program (212 845 5298, defenders@humanrightsfirst.org)

Please send your letters to:

President Zine-al-Abidine Ben Ali
Président de la République
Palais Présidentiel
Carthage
Tunisia

c/o Ambassador Halem Atallah
Embassy of Tunisia to the United States
1515 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005
Fax: 202-862-1858
E-mail: at.washington@verizon.net

* * * * * * * * * *
Dear President Ben Ali,

I would like to express my serious concern about the assault of prominent Tunisian journalist and human rights activist Sihem Ben Sedrine on January 5. Reports indicate that Ms. Ben Sedrine was knocked to the ground and repeatedly punched outside her home in Tunis by an unknown young man. The building where she lives also houses the offices of the Conseil National pour les Libertés en Tunisie (CNLT). Ms. Ben Sedrine subsequently filed a complaint with the local police.

As you are aware, Ms. Ben Sedrine is one of Tunisia’s most prominent human rights defenders and has been targeted on many occasions due to her human rights work. She has been arrested, charged, imprisoned, physically attacked, threatened and slandered in the state-controlled press, as well as having her offices raided and her colleagues threatened. Other human rights defenders have received similar treatment. Such continuing harassment is contrary to international human rights standards and the provisions of the Tunisian Constitution concerning freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly, freedom from torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention.

I call upon you to ensure a full, independent investigation into this latest attack on Sihem Ben Sedrine, and the prosecution of all persons responsible. Moreover, I urge you to take the necessary measures to end all forms of harassment, persecution and violence directed against human rights defenders and to fully implement the provisions of the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

I will continue to monitor this case closely. Thank you for your attention to these most serious matters.

Sincerely,