Human Rights Defenders in Tunisia

Since coming to power in a bloodless coup in 1987, Tunisian 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. Moreover, human rights activists and their families are under almost permanent surveillance by security agents. Their homes and offices are watched by the police and often conspicuously surrounded by obtrusive numbers of security agents who prevent them from meeting and carrying out their human rights activities.

Human rights organizations have also been restricted. Independent groups that are critical of the government’s human rights practices, such as the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT), the Observatory for the Freedom of Press, Publishing, and Creation in Tunisia (OLPEC), International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners (AISPP) and the Tunisian Center for Judicial Independence (CTIJ), have been refused legal recognition and their activities are habitually obstructed and restricted by the authorities. Even legally recognized groups, like the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH), are also subject to severe judicial harassment and repeated interference in their activities including the blockage of foreign grants to the organization and the sabotage of its meetings.

On March 1, 2005 human rights lawyer Mohamed Abbou was arrested following the publication of two online articles in which he denounced the use of torture in Tunisia. After an unfair trial in April 2005, Mohamed Abbou was sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment and detained at el-Kef, a town that is more than 100 miles (170 km) from his family home in Tunis. On July 24, 2007, following an international campaign to support him and intense pressure from the international community, Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali ordered the release on parole of Mohamed Abbou. Despite his release, Mohamed Abbou remains subject to a travel ban and has been prevented from traveling abroad to conduct his advocacy work.