Report of the
on the eve of
WSIS Tunis 2005
Freedom of Expression in
The Siege Intensifies
September 2005
Freedom of Expression in
The Siege Intensifies
CONTENTS:
A. Introduction p.
3
B. Facts on the ground
1. Prisoners of opinion p. 5
2. Internet blocking p. 7
3. Censorship of books p. 8
4. Independent organisations p. 9
5. Journalists and dissidents p. 12
6. Broadcast pluralism p. 14
7. Press freedom p. 15
8. Torture p.
16
C. Conclusions p. 17
A. INTRODUCTION:
This is the second
report of the Tunisian Monitoring Group (TMG) and follows the latest of a
series of fact-finding missions to
The second mission,
of four TMG members took place from 5-8 May to mark World Press Freedom Day and
to launch and publicise, in
The third mission, of
nine TMG members, took place from 6-11 September 2005, and provided the basis
for our first update on freedom of expression in
During the course of
the three missions the TMG has now met with over 250 individuals and over 50
organisations and institutions including members of the government and
opposition, public officials, government supported organisations, independent
civil society organisations, human rights defenders, journalists, publishers,
librarians, private broadcasters and others. During each of our missions we
have sought and been provided with access to government representatives. We
welcome this dialogue and we have engaged in a frank and open exchange of
views.
During the latest
mission we met with the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, the Minister of
Communication Technologies and the Director of the External Communications
Agency. In our report we acknowledge that some improvements have been made or
have been promised, notably with respect to further private radio and
television concessions, commitments to removal of the “depôt legal” for
periodicals and some improvement in prison conditions, but serious concerns
remain with respect to all of these matters
However, since
January 2005, we have disappointingly witnessed serious deterioration in other
conditions related to freedom of expression in
In such conditions,
two months before WSIS Tunis 2005, Tunisia is not a suitable place to hold a
United Nations World Summit.
We urge the Tunisian
government to take very seriously the recommendations we are making in this
report and to show a real and immediate intent to remove the practices we have
identified that violate international human rights laws and standards to which
Tunisia is a signatory.
We call on the
international community to take responsibility in holding
In the following
sections we set out the principal developments that we have observed since our
first report.
About the
The
Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) is a coalition of 14 organisations set up in
2004 to monitor freedom of expression in
The third
mission of the TMG was composed of representatives of Article 19, International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ), International Federation of Library
Associations and Institutions (IFLA), International Publishers Association
(IPA), Index on Censorship, PEN
Other
members of TMG are: Canadian Journalists
for Free Expression (CJFE), Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR),
International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Journalistes en Danger (JED),
Media Institute of South Africa (MISA), World Association of Newspapers (WAN).
B. FACTS ON THE GROUND
1. Prisoners of
opinion
In the first report of the IFEX TMG we observed imprisonment of individuals related to expression of their
opinions or media activities.
We recommended to the Tunisian government to release
Hamadi Jebali, editor of the weekly Al Fajr and hundreds of prisoners like him
held for their religious and political beliefs and who never advocated or used
violence[3].
We also recommended to end arbitrary administrative
sanctions compelling journalist Abdellah Zouari to live nearly 500 km away from
his wife and children and guarantee his basic right to freedom of movement and
expression[4].
We further recommended release of the six cyber
dissidents known as the Youth of Zarzis[5]
who, following unfair trials, have been sentences to heavy prison terms
allegedly for using the Internet to commit terror attacks.
At the time of the second report we have witnessed no
progress on our recommendations. On the contrary, the situation has worsened,
in particular with the imprisonment of Mr. Mohamed Abbou.
We strongly reiterate these recommendations and
furthermore we call for the urgent and immediate release of human rights lawyer
Mohamed Abbou.
The imprisonment of
Mohamed Abbou has been a chilling blow to freedom of expression and the
independence of the judiciary and appears to be directly linked to Tunisian
government efforts to suppress dissent in the run up to the WSIS.
Mohamed Abbou’s
arrest on
The basis given for
Abbou’s arrest, however, was another opinion piece written by Abbou in August
2004 denouncing torture in Tunisian prisons, and following the outcry generated
by the images of torture on Iraqi prisoners in the US-run Abu Ghraieb prison in
Abbou was sentenced
on
On
Mrs. Abbou, who was
reported to have been assaulted and knocked down by plainclothes police during
the first day of the trial, denied that her husband attacked his female
colleague in 2002. Abbou and his wife Samia went on hunger strike at the end of
July to inform the international community about the repression inflicted on
“those who voice their dissent” in
2.
Internet blocking
In the first report of IFEX TMG we
observed blocking of websites, including news and information websites, and
police surveillance of e-mails and Internet cafes.
We recommended to the
At the time of this second report we have witnessed no
significant change and no progress on our recommendations.
We maintain this recommendation and strongly urge the
Tunisian government to make significant progress in advance of the World
In January 2005 we
undertook technical tests[7]
on selected Tunisian Internet Service Providers. We identified systematic
Internet blocking which we believe to be operated using Smartfilter software[8].
Internet blocking was applied to wide categories of sites, but also including
specific Tunisian government defined URLs.
We
have discussed Internet blocking with Tunisian government representatives and
with government supported civil society organisations. They confirmed to us
that systematic Internet blocking takes place however government
representatives asserted that blocking of political and information sites was
due to their “terrorist” or “hate speech” content. Government officials were
unable to describe any judicial or regulatory process that would enable such
assertions to be legitimately challenged in law.
In January 2005 we
identified a sample of 20 sites that we assessed to be blocked for their
political and information content and which did not appear to carry any
information which could be considered illegal or harmful under international
law. In September 2005 we undertook further tests of the twenty sample sites.
We found that nineteen of the sites identified remained blocked in the tests
that we conducted.
3.
Censorship of books
In the first report of the IFEX TMG we observed blocking of the distribution of books and publications.
We recommended to the Tunisian government to release
banned books, end censorship, and conform to international standards for freedom
of expression.
At the time of the second report we have witnessed no
significant change and no progress on our recommendation.
We therefore maintain these recommendations and
specifically we recommend to amend 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.
The dépôt legal system is still shamelessly
used as a hidden form of censorship of books in
Publishers which dare
to publish books the authorities disapprove of not only see these books being
blocked at the printer’s (after having been printed), but also have to face
other forms of harassment, including forms of fiscal harassment. For more, see
the first IFEX TMG report.
4.
Independent organisations
In the first report of IFEX TMG we
observed restrictions on the freedom of association, including the right of organisations to be
legally established and to hold meetings.
We recommended to the Tunisia government to
respect international
standards on freedom of association and freedom of assembly and to grant legal
recognition to independent civil society groups such as the National Council
for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT), the Tunis Centre for the Independence of the
Judiciary, the League of Free Writers, OLPEC, the International Association to
Support Political Prisoners, the Association for the Struggle against Torture,
and RAID-ATTAC-Tunisia.
At the time of this second report we have witnessed no
progress on our recommendations. We have also witnessed serious new attacks on
legally recognised but independent organisations including the Tunisian League
of Human Rights and The Tunisian Association of Magistrates. We consider these
attacks to represent a serious deterioration in respect for human rights.
We strongly reiterate the recommendation that the
Tunisian government must take steps to allow independent organisations to
establish without the requirement for prior political approval.
In addition we call on members of the ruling party,
the RCD, to cease their attacks on the
We further call on the Tunisian government to bring to
a halt arbitrary administrative measures used to destabilize the Tunisian
Association of Magistrates (ATM). These measures are clearly incompatible with
the independence of the judiciary.
We also call on the Tunisian government to allow the
Tunisian Journalists
The Tunisian League of Human Rights
The Tunisian League
of Human Rights (LTDH) was prevented from holding its Sixth Congress, scheduled
for 9-11 September 2005, a meeting which members of the TMG had planned, for
several months, to attend as international observers. On
"It is the 23rd
court ruling against the LTDH since November 2000," said Souhayr
Belhassen, Vice President of LTDH who explained how a process of restructuring
this group was put in place since 2001. She said the aim was to have fewer, but
more active chapters. She acknowledged that in some of the chapters eliminated
"there are some persons that are pro-government, but others are democrats
who have lost their chapters too".
The Minister of
Justice stated to the TMG that the matter was an internal affair of the LTDH,
however, in a report carried by the state-owned national daily, La Presse, on
10 September 2005, the Secretary General of the ruling party (RCD), M. Hédi
M’henni, was quoted in a statement which clearly indicated an endorsement by
the RCD of the action being taken against the LTDH[9]. The state-owned press
gave no coverage to the views of the LTDH leadership.
Members of the TMG
witnessed, on
The TMG remains
deeply concerned at the intense political pressure that is being placed on the
independent LTDH by the authorities and by people close to the ruling party.
The Tunisian Association of Magistrates
Attempts to destabilize
the Tunisian Association of Magistrates (ATM) and to encourage a minority group
of judges close to the government to take control of the ATM started after its
democratically elected board spoke out against attacks on lawyers following the
arrest of their colleague, Mohamed Abbou, in March 2005 and associated
protests. Lawyers, including the head of the Bar Association, Abdessatar Ben
Moussa were reported to have been physically assaulted at the
The
Ministry of Justice issued a statement on
A
minority group of magistrates have called for the disavowal of the elected
Board and for a provisional committee to manage the affairs of ATM pending a
further Extraordinary General Assembly to be held on
The Tunisian
Journalists Union (SJT) was denied the right to hold its founding congress on
On
On
On
5.
Journalists and dissidents
In the first report of the IFEX TMG we observed restrictions on the freedom of movement of human rights
defenders and political dissidents together with police surveillance,
harassment, intimidation and interception of communications.
We recommended to the Tunisian government to end
harassment and assaults on human rights and political activists and their
relatives and bring to justice those responsible for ordering these attacks and
perpetrating them.
We also recommended action to be taken against
interference by government employees in the privacy of human rights and
political activists and end the withholding of their mail and email.
We further recommended to lift the arbitrary travel
ban on human rights defenders and political activists, including Mokhtar
Yahyaoui and Mohammed Nouri.
At the time of the second report we have witnessed no
progress on our recommendations. On the contrary the situation has worsened in particular in the increased harassment of
independent Tunisian journalists.
We reiterate our very grave concern at systematic
harassment of journalists, activists and dissidents, and urge that immediate
steps be taken to remove political surveillance and harassment of individuals
engaged in the legitimate defence of human rights and the right to freedom of
expression.
During its second
mission scheduled to coincide with NGOs activities on World Press Freedom Day,
IFEX TMG documented and witnessed attacks on freedom of expression and police
harassment of journalists. Attacks on freedom of expression went hand in hand
with renewed smear campaigns against human rights defenders and independent
journalists.
President Ben Ali has
decorated one of the smear campaigners, Abdelhamid Riahi, editor at Dar-Al
Anwar news group on Culture Day on
One of the
main targets of harassment and intimidation is Sihem Bensedrine, editor of the
online magazine Kalima and spokesperson for the National Council for Liberties
in Tunisia (CNLT). For weeks she has been the target of an insulting and
obscene campaign led by privately owned papers, such as Ashourouq, As-sarih and
Al-Hadath, papers often used by the authorities to settle scores with human
rights defenders, political dissidents and journalists.
The TMG
has strongly protested this outrageous campaign.
Lotfi
Hajji, President of the Tunisian Journalists Union (STJ), became one of the
most harassed journalists by the police since the establishment of the SJT in
May 2004. He is still denied the national press card and also
accreditation as correspondent of the Qatari satellite TV, Al-Jazeera.
The TMG
is gravely concerned by these and other cases and considers there is no
legitimate basis for these forms of harassment and intimidation of individuals
whose views dissent from those of the government.
6.
Broadcast pluralism
In
the first report of IFEX TMG we observed lack of pluralism in broadcast
ownership, with only one private radio and one private TV broadcaster, both
believed to be loyal supporters of President Ben Ali.
We
recommended to the
At the
time of this second report we note and welcome the fact that a second private
radio station has been licensed and that a private television station has also
been authorised. We remain concerned however that there is no transparent
licensing procedure in place and that the new services, while not under state
ownership, have shown no signs of genuine independence.
We
reiterate the need for fair and transparent licensing procedures and recommend
an independent regulatory body be established to oversee licensing of
independent broadcast media.
President Ben Ali
announced in July the establishment of Radio Jawhara, the second privately
owned radio station since 2003.
The owners of Radio
Mosaique, Radio Jawhara and Hannibal TV, the first private TV station
established in early 2005, all appear to have strong ties with the Tunisian government.
Academics and
researchers point out that pluralism in broadcasting cannot gain ground in
7. Press
Freedom
In the first report of the IFEX TMG we observed press censorship and lack of diversity of content in
newspapers.
We recommended to the Tunisian government to take
serious steps toward lifting all restrictions on independent journalism and
encouraging diversity of content and ownership of the press.
At the time of the second report we have witnessed a
step in the right direction (
We
therefore reiterate these recommendations.
Further we
urge that the
We also
call on the Ministry of the Interior to respect Article 13 of the Tunisian
Press Code enabling the establishment of newspapers and periodicals.
IFEX-TMG welcomed
President Ben Ali’s announcement of
At the same time, the TMG has witnessed at first hand
the authorities refusal to allow new independent journals.
As far as
content is concerned, the Tunisian print media is lacking in pluralism. Lack of
criticism of the government and the absence of balanced and fair reporting are
two important features of the papers owned by the state and the ruling Democratic
Constitutional Rally (RCD), as well as by the private sector press. Privately
owned papers continue to avoid coverage of issues which might anger the
authorities, such as corruption and government attacks on human rights.
Even the
Tunisian Association of Journalists (AJT), which is not independent of
government, has produced a report highlighting deterioration of the press
situation in the country. Neji Bghouri, an AJT Board member, was summoned by
the police district in
8.
Torture
In the first report of the IFEX TMG we reported
credible accounts of recent use of torture by the
security services with impunity.
We recommended to the Tunisian government to allow
independent investigation into cases of torture allegedly perpetrated by
security forces.
At the time of the second report we have witnessed
some progress on prison conditions, but no real progress on our main
recommendation. Despite progress, prison conditions also remain a source of
major concern.
We therefore restate the February recommendation and
urge that the Tunisian government take every effort to completely eliminate the
practice of torture by the security services.
President Ben Ali announced in April 2005 a decision
to ease the inhumane conditions inflicted for years on political prisoners. In
particular he announced the ending of the practice of involuntary solitary
confinement, imposed on prisoners like journalist Hamadi Jebali. In addition it
was announced that the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) would
be allowed to visit Tunisian prisons. The TMG and other international human
rights groups have welcomed this.
On the other hand we are aware that prison conditions,
in other respects, have not markedly improved and remain very poor. We continue
to be gravely concerned that torture remains prevalent within the practices of
the security services and that documented cases of torture are not being
properly investigated or open to proper independent investigation.
C. CONCLUSIONS
As the WSIS draws
nearer, attacks on freedom of expression and freedom of association have
escalated since January 2005.
The circle of people
targeted by such attacks has also widened. It is no longer the usual group of
uncompromising human rights defenders, whom Tunisian authorities have been
trying to silence by a number of means, including imprisonment, police
harassment and confiscation of passports.
Journalists,
magistrates, academics and others are making it clear that they too wish to
assert and to exercise their right to the freedom of expression, particularly
at a time when the country braces itself to host the second phase of the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
Many
thought that the WSIS would be a good opportunity for the Tunisian government
to start improving its human rights record and to loosen its grip over the
media, the publishing industry and the Internet.
Despite a few
positive steps forward, the Tunisia Monitoring Group concluded, during its
third mission, that it would be extremely difficult to achieve real improvement
in respect for the right to freedom of expression without an independent
judiciary and respect for the rule of law, without an independent media to hold
government and public servants to account, and without freedom of assembly and
association.
Tunisians of different political trends who met with
TMG members maintain that they deserve to live in a democracy and that progress
in terms of rule of law and the right to freedom of expression needs to be
backed by the international community. They argue that democratic countries in
particular should speak out and insist that the privilege of hosting a United
Nations World Summit requires a demonstrable commitment to upholding
internationally agreed human rights.
[1] http://campaigns.ifex.org/tmg
[2] We report, in particular, on the cases of the Tunisian League of Human
Rights (LTDH), The Tunisian Association of Magistrates (ATM), and the Tunisian
Journalists Union (SJT).
[3] Jebali and six
other leading figures of the banned Islamic An-Nahda Party went on hunger
strike on
[4] Zouari went on hunger strike on
[5] Hamza Mahroug, Abdel Ghafar Guiza, Ridha Belhaj Ibrahim, Omar Farouk
Chelendi, Omar Rached and Aymen Mcharek; imprisoned.
[7] Technical support was provided by the OpenNet Initiative, a partnership
between the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies,
[8] Smartfilter is manufactured by Secure Computing Inc. a NASDAQ quoted
company based in
[9]
« Il a affirmé que la Ligue tunisienne des droits de l'homme (LTDH) est un
acquis national qu'il convient de préserver et de consolider en évitant les
voies hasardeuses où certains veulent l'engager. » La Presse, 10 September
2005
[10]
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