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Tunisia: Freedom of Expression under Siege
Report of the
IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group
on the conditions for participation in the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held in Tunis, November 2005
February 2005
Tunisia: Freedom of Expression under Siege
CONTENTS:
Executive Summary
A. Background and Context
B. Facts on the Ground
1. Prisoners of opinion
2. Internet blocking
3. Censorship of books
4. Independent organisations 0
5. Activists and dissidents
6. Broadcast pluralism
7. Press content
8. Torture
C. Conclusions and Recommendations
Annex 1 - Open Letter to Kofi Annan
Annex 2 - List of blocked websites
Annex 3 - List of banned books
The increasing legislative and administrative restrictions on the right to freedom of association have led many civil society activists, particularly since 1998, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to establish groups and exercise their right to freedom of association and assembly without prior authorization from the government.
The National Council for Liberties in Tunisia
The CNLT was established in December 1998 by a group of human rights defenders following unprecedented attacks on the LTDH, which was forced into hibernation in 1992. The CNLT's monitoring of human rights violations prompted continuous violent reactions against its leading members including arrests, physical assault, and harassment.
Nearly 150 plain-clothed policemen blocked the entry to a CNLT meeting on 11 December 2004 in Tunis. "Many of our members were assaulted on that day by the police. Three of them were injured, including one who had his ribs broken," said Sihem Ben Sedrine. Another meeting of the CNLT coincided with the visit of IFEX members to Tunisia in January. CNLT militants were denied access to their office on Abu Dhabi Street in the center of Tunis on 16 January 2005 by scores of plain-clothed policemen.
IFEX members noted the presence of some of these policemen when they later visited the CNLT office.
Unauthorized NGOs generally hold their meetings at the homes of their leading figures, but militants are often prevented from taking part in what the authorities consider "illegal meetings."
The Association for the Struggle against Torture.
Another unauthorized group is the Association for the Struggle Against Torture in Tunisia. "When we talk to each other over the phone, the police quickly turn up. Our phones are obviously tapped. Nearly one year ago almost 40 plain-clothed policemen circled my office. It's a way to discourage us and deny us the right to operate within the framework of the law," said Radhia Nasraoui.
On 8 June 2004 Nasraoui and other founding members of the Association for the Struggle Against Torture in Tunisia were assaulted by nearly 17 plain-clothed policemen and were prevented from turning in the application for legal status for their group to the authorities in Tunis. Ridha Barkati, treasurer of the group and brother of a political activist who died under torture several years ago was thrown into a taxi and ordered to leave.
The International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners (L'association internationale de soutien aux prisonniers politiques).
This group, which is very active as far as shedding light on the plight of nearly five hundred political prisoners and former political prisoners, was established nearly three years ago. Members of the board were assaulted and harassed by the police when they first tried in 2002 to deposit their application for legal status. They were told by the police there was no such office which would deal with their application! Later they sent their application through the registered mail to the competent authorities, but the envelope containing the application was opened and returned to them with no comment or the long-awaited receipt.
The head of the group, Mohamed Nouri, and other members of the board, including Saida Akremi and Samir Ben Amor are constantly harassed and followed by the police. Plain-clothed policemen are regularly posted in front of their offices and to intimidate their clients. Their homes are often under police surveillance too.
Nouri, Akremi and Ben Amor are lawyers. Nouri's problems started nearly 15 years ago when the government sued him in a military court because of an opinion piece run by the weekly El Fajr in which he argued that the military courts are unconstitutional. He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, but was released after more than eight months.
The Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary (Le centre de Tunis pour l'indépendance de justice).
Attempts by this group, established by scores of lawyers and law professors nearly two years ago, to secure legal recognition from the authorities has so far failed.
The group is headed by one of the country's bravest and most respected judges, Mokhtar Yahyaoui. His open letter to President Ben Ali urging him in 2001 to put an end to the lack of independence of the judiciary, was highly appreciated by human rights defenders and democracy advocates. But he had soon to pay a very high price for his courage. He was fired from his job and physically assaulted by thugs in the streets of Tunis and saw his nephew thrown in prison only for posting his open letter on his website.
The daily harassment by plain-clothed policemen of the workers who were painting and refurbishing his office which he planned to turn into a law practice led him in September 2004 to change his mind regarding the possibility of practicing law in such dire conditions.
The League of Free Writers
The league of free writers is not officially approved by the authorities. LFW has two requests: 1. Implementation of the Press Code ("Hand out the receipt!"), 2. Non-application of the Press Code to books, or abrogation of the Press Code.
The history of the League of Free Writers (LFW) is a good example of how the Tunisian authorities do not respect the right to assemble. The LFW deposited its statutes on 13 July 2001. This, in itself, had not been easy. Sometimes, the authorities, which are aware of when the statutes will be deposited by a would be association, simply block the official building's entrance (physically) or simply do not hand out the receipt which they should be handing out when statutes are deposited. This is for instance the case of Raid - ATTAC Tunisia. The authorities never handed out the receipt to them, thus preventing them from going to court for a non-existing decision.
Within two months, the authorities informed LFW that it would not be approved. FLW filed a complaint with the administrative tribunal in February 2004. The tribunal sent a questionnaire to LFW and to the Ministry of Culture. The latter one gave 3 reasons for refusing to approve the LFW:
- There is already a union of Tunisian writers.
- The adjective "free" is a problem. It seems the association would exclude writers who are not free.
- One of the articles of the statutes stipulates that the LFW would defend writers' interests, thus being more of a trade union than an association.
The administrative tribunal, whose decisions are not compulsory, has not reached a final decision yet. It is not expected to do so before 2007.
Interestingly, the OLPEC was given the same reasons for not being officially approved.
Observatory of the Freedom of the Press, Publishing and Creativity (OLPEC).
OLPEC was founded in 2001. The authorities refused to acknowledge receipt of OLPEC's official request for approval in 2001. OLPEC was finally given a receipt on 3 May 2001. Within three months, the authorities, as they are required by law, informed OLPEC that it would not be approved. The goals of OLPEC are as follows:
- Investigate censorship of books, the press and artistic activities;
- Publish regular reports on the situation of freedom of expression;
- Issue alerts on particular cases of infringement of freedom of expression;
- Propose reforms to improve the situation of freedom of expression in Tunisia.
OLPEC filed a complaint with the administrative tribunal in 2001. The case is still pending. It should be noted that very often it is not even possible to file an official complaint because the authorities did not acknowledge receipt of the official request for approval As in the LFW case, the reasons put forward by the Ministry of Culture in the OLPEC case are:
- Name not appropriate.
- Goals of the association broad enough for it to be a political organisation.
The Tunisian section of the Rally for an International Alternative of Development (le Rassemblement pour une alternative internationale de developpement, RAID-Tunisie).
This group was established in 1999. Out of nearly 40 local sections of this international movement, only the Tunisian section is not granted legal status. Its spokesperson, Fathi Chamki is one of the most harassed civil society activists. He ha been tortured, ill-treated and arbitrarily jailed for nearly one month during the past years. The members of the association are harassed. They are under tight police surveillance. Their freedom of movement is severely curtailed and their phone and mail communications are intercepted.
The Ministry of the Interior warned in June 2004 the Tunisian League for Human Rights and the Progressive Democratic Party against hosting the second Congress of the Tunisian section of the Rally for an International Alternative of Development. In October 2004, militants of this group were prevented by the police from accessing the headquarters of the Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties to hold their second congress. "International solidarity can decisively help in forcing the dictatorial regime to back down and let us hold our second congress," said Chamkhi.
Political parties critical of President Ben Ali's policies are also subject to attacks and assaults on their leading members, even though their parties have been already granted recognition. For instance, the Progressive Democratic Party (le Parti democratique progessiste, PDP) and the Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties in Tunisia (le Forum democratique pour le travail et les libertes, FDTL) are not treated by the authorities on an equal footing, even with less important political groups. They are kept under constant police surveillance and denied facilities granted to other minor political groups mainly because they boycotted the 2004 elections.
Led by Moustafa Ben Jaafar, former member of the board of the LTDH, the Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties, which waited 8 years before being granted legal status in 2002, is currently being harassed and taken to court by individuals believed to be close to the Ministry of the Interior. The problems of Ben Jaafar increased suddenly increased after the decision of his political group in January 2004 to boycott what they called the "mock presidential and legislative elections."
Most of the unauthorized human rights and political groups have called repeatedly, in vain, on the authorities to abide by the Constitution, the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights and the Declaration of the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on 9 December 1998.
In its "Remarks regarding the preliminary conclusions of the IFEX delegation to Tunisia" the Tunisian External Communication Agency said, "Each Tunisian is free to join, or not to join, any association," and "Tunisian civil society is remarkably dynamic."
It singled out the Tunisian Association of Journalists as an example of an association which publishes "each year its own report on the state of the press in Tunisia."
In fact, the Tunisian Association of Journalists used to be one of the most independent journalists' groups in the Arab world until it was forced in 1993 by the authorities to support the candidacy of President Ben Ali.
The Tunisian Association of Journalists, an example of independence or a tool of propaganda?
The Tunisian Association of Journalists repeatedly turned a blind eye to mounting attacks on the media and harassment and imprisonment of journalists. Its decision to award its "Golden Quill" to President Ben Ali in December 2003 led to its suspension in March 2004 by the International Federation of Journalists and prompted independent Tunisian journalists to establish in May 2004 a new trade union (Le syndicat des journalistes tunisiens).
Its latest report on the state of the press in Tunisia was largely distributed outside the country and among the Western diplomatic community based in Tunis. The report appeared to be part of a strategy backed by the government to influence the International Federation of Journalists to lift the suspension of Tunisian Association of journalists during the IFJ Congress in Athens in May 2004.
The Tunisian authorities usually advise international visitors to meet with the chairs of the Tunisian Association of Journalists and the Tunisian Association of Newspaper Editors expelled by the World Association of Newspapers in 1997 for its lack of defense of press freedom in Tunisia. Both associations have been led during the past 15 years by members of President Ben Ali's ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD). So have been other groups established by the authorities to spread the illusion of a dynamic and pluralistic civil society.
Such state-run groups are subsidised by the authorities and encouraged to take part in international conferences, including the WSIS. Tunisian rights and political activists find it ironic that these state-run groups are considered as NGOs and granted accreditation to the WSIS while their groups are denied accreditation simply because they have no legal status under their autocratic regime.
5. Restrictions of the freedom of movement of human rights defenders and political dissidents.
Civil society activists are sometimes put under house arrest for very short periods of time, in violation of their right to freedom of movement and expression. They are denied the right to leave their home to take part in meetings, even when the meeting is held at the headquarters of authorized political or human rights groups. No written explanation is provided, only oral warning of the consequences of not abiding by such an arbitrary decision.
Abdallah Zouari; harassed
Zouari used to write for the Islamist weekly Al-Fajr until the government banned it in 1991. One year later he was sentenced by a military court to 11 years in prison and five years of "administrative control" for belonging to "an illegal organization" and planning "to change the nature of the state."
Since his release from prison in June 2002, he has been kept under virtual house arrest in the suburbs of the small town of Zarzis, nearly 500 km. south-east of Tunis. Nine policemen closely watch him 24/7 at his parents-in-law house where the Ministry of the Interior has ordered him to remain.
Zouari's freedom of movement and expression are tightly restricted. In July 2003 a cantonal court sentenced him to four months in prison for "defamation." The case followed an argument he had with the owner of an Internet café who denied him access, on instructions from the police. One month later, he was arrested and convicted of violating his "administrative control" and sentenced to nine months in prison. This second case followed a visit with three human rights lawyers to a local market, nearly 40 km. from Zarzis.
A contributor to blocked web magazines, NahdhaNet (www.nahdha.net), Kalima (www.Kalima.tunisie.com) and Tunisnews (www.tunisnews.com), Zouari is not welcome to use Internet cafés which are under regular police surveillance.
For the second time in less than one year, Zouari went on hunger strike on 23 January 2005 to bring attention to his plight, to defend his right to express himself and to work freely, and to live under the same roof with his wife and children. They live in the residential city of El-Mourouj, in the southern suburbs of Tunis.
- Sihem Ben Sedrine and Neziha Rejiba; harassed.
Respectively, editors of the French and Arabic sections of the online magazine Kalima (www.Kalima.tunisie.com) and human rights defenders, Ben Sedrine and Rejiba are often harassed and are under continuous police surveillance. Scores of plain-clothed policemen are sometimes in front of their respective homes.
Both Ben Sedrine and Rejiba, also known as Um Zyed, became among the favorite targets of the Tunisian political police, for shedding light on human rights violations and crossing "red lines", such as criticizing President Ben Ali's autocratic rule and the involvement of members of his family in shady business deals. Ben Sedrine was arbitrarily detained for weeks in 2001 after tackling the issue of corruption in Tunisia during a program aired by a London-based satellite channel.
Rejiba was given a suspended sentence of eight months and a fine of 1,200 Dinars (nearly $1,000 U.S.) for allegedly violating foreign currency laws. Human rights lawyers said the charges "are fabricated and aimed at tarnishing her image because of her political activities and courageous articles." This suspended sentence and fine came after Rejiba criticised the overwhelming presence of President Ben Ali's portraits in the public sphere
Other human rights defenders and political activists are also popular targets for the plain-clothed political police. The long list of the frequently harassed human rights defenders and dissidents of different political trends include:
Radhia Nasraoui, Moncef Marzouki and his brother Mohamed Ali Bedoui (now living in Western Europe, after being arbitrarily imprisoned and fired from their respective positions as medical professor and teacher), Hamma Hammami, Nejib Hosni, Mokhtar Yahyaoui, Raouf Ayadi, Zouhaier Yahyaoui, Mohamed Nouri, Lassad Jouhri, Taoufik Ben Brik, Sadri Khiari, Saida Akremi, Mohamed Jemour, Bechir Essid, Slah Jourchi,Souhaier Belhassen, Ahlam Belhaj, Khedija Cherif, Alya and Khemais Chamari, Hedhili Abderrahmane, Samir Ben Amor, Mokhtar Trifi, Anouar Kousri, Ali Ben Salem, Salah Hamzaoui, Mustapha Ben Jaafar, Hachemi Jegham, Omar Mestirti, Abdel Kader Ben Khemis, Abdel Wahab Maatar, Noureddine Bhiri, Ridha Barkati, Chokri Latif, Fathi Chamkhi, Mongi Ben Salah, Ayachi Hammami, Moncef Ben Salem.
Many Tunisian dissidents living abroad, particularly in France, such as Ahmed Manai, Mondher Sfar and Taher Labidi, have been harassed and physically assaulted during the past years by "unidentified" thugs.
Relatives and children of political or rights activists living in Tunisia or in exile and former prisoners of conscience, mainly Islamists, are among the favorite targets of the Tunisian police. Many Tunisians have also paid a heavy price, varying from losing their job to imprisonment for simply assisting some of the needy families of imprisoned Islamist activists.
- Slim Boukhdhir; assaulted and harassed
Boukhdhir was assaulted during a news conference on
7 August 2004 by thugs allegedly close to one of President Ben Ali's brothers-in-law. Subsequently he lost his job as contributor to "Akhbar Al-Joumhurya" (News of the Republic) and was harassed and received threats over the phone warning him against going public with his case.
- Lotfi Hajji and Mahmoud Dhaouadi; harassed
Hajji and Dhaouadi are respectively the chair and the secretary general of the Tunisian Syndicate of Journalists established in May 2004. They were summoned on 16 August by the Director of the Political Affairs at the Ministry of the Interior who questioned the legal grounds of the new syndicate and its issuing of press releases.
Hajji and Dhaoudi told the government official that under the Labor Code, no authorization is needed to establish a syndicate.
On the other hand, Hajji, who is a former sub-editor of the weekly Realites and known for his independent views was in 2004 denied accreditation as correspondent of the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera. The Tunisian External Communication Agency informed Al-Jazeera of the decision to deny Hajji accreditation.
Tunisia is one of the few countries in the world to have refused to allow Al-Jazeera to have an office in Tunis.]
- Fatih Chamki, spokesperson of the Tunisian section of the Tunisian section of the Rally for an International Alternative of Development (le Rassemblement pour une alternative internationale de developpement, RAID-Tunisie), also known as the Tunisian section of ATTAC, was prevented from attending a meeting of the Tunisian League of Human Rights on 16 January. Early in the morning, Chamkhi informed the representatives of the six organizations of IFEX visiting Tunisia that he had unexpectedly found himself under house arrest.
He explained over the phone that as he was about to start his car's engine, three police cars circled his vehicle to prevent him from going anywhere. He was about to depart to attend a meeting of the Kairouan section of the Tunisian League for Human Rights. The city of Kairouan is nearly 140 kilometers south of Tunis. One of the policemen made it clear to Chamkhi that he had better not go anywhere this day.
Chamkhi, concerned that should he ignore this instruction, he would risk facing police brutality, decided to stay home that day. Sarah Carr, representative of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) and Alexis Krikorian (IPA) volunteered to pay a visit to Chamkhi's home in the southern suburbs of Tunis to have a clear idea how civil society activists' freedom of movement is violated in Tunisia.
Hundreds of former political prisoners are like journalist Abdallah Zouari under constant police surveillance and unable to leave the area where they are residing without prior authorization from the police. Zouari was closely followed by a Toyota car with two pain-clothed policemen when he came to meet with us at the entrance of his village on a motor bike on 18 January. The police car followed him when he led us first to his home and later to meet with the parents and relatives of the Youth of Zarzis.
Many of the political and human rights activists who came to meet with the delegates representing IFEX members at a hotel in Tunis were followed by plain-clothed policemen. Plain-clothed police were closely watching the hotel and our visitors day and night during our stay. The whereabouts of the IFEX delegation were constantly monitored by police officers.
Human rights defenders and political activists and former political prisoners and their close relatives are often denied the right to travel, even though they have a
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