Me Hédi Menai has been subject to a pattern of harassment, most recently on 16 September 2005 when plain clothes police surrounded his office and prevented him from entering.  At the time he was accompanied by another notary and clients.  When Me Menai called the public prosecutor at the Jendouba tribunal he refused to intervene and lodge his complaint, inviting him to put it in the hands of the Jendouba police chief who had ordered the office to be surrounded.

Two days later, Mr Fethi Taboui, Me Menai’s driver, who had been asked earlier to collaborate with the police and had refused, was arrested arbitrarily on the pretext that he was being sought in a case.  When Me Menai presented proof that Mr Taboui could not have been involved in the case in question, the police cited other cases implicating other people, all unknown to the driver.  He was finally released on 21 September 2005.  The complaint lodged for arbitrary detention was closed by the public prosecutor’s office.  It would appear from these events that the purpose of this arrest was to prevent the movement of Me Menai who is unable to drive due to a handicap affecting his leg.  I also understand that for nearly five months, Mme Lila Ayadi, secretary to Me Menai, suffered harassment from police.

Both plain clothes as well as official police officers from the Jendouba police station lay siege to Me Menai’s office, in order to persuade clients not to use his services.  These acts of intimidation were increased to a new level when Me Menai became the lawyer to the family of Moncef Louhichi, who died in detention under suspicious circumstances on 16 June 2005 at Tabarka.  In June 2005, both the Governor of Jendouba as well as the Mayor of Tabark personally interceded with Moncef Louhichi’s family to get them to take the case from Me Menai.  In spite of these pressures, the family kept to their choice of lawyer.

Furthermore, since the creation of CNLT in 1998, Me Menai has been under close surveillance by police, including at the Jendouba government courts where he pleads, for the purpose of intimidating his clients and affecting his credibility as a lawyer.  This surveillance was intensified when he was elected to the board of CNLT in 2001.

Articles 16 and 18 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (1990) which state that:

16. Governments shall ensure that lawyers (a) are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; …..

18. Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients' causes as a result of discharging their functions.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Arabic, French and English, or your own language:

  expressing concern about lawyer, Me Hédi Menai and urging the authorities to :

• to order a prompt and impartial investigation into the harassment suffered by Me Menai and his staff and the results be made public. 
• to ensure that Me Menai is afforded all the necessary protection due to him as a lawyer under international human rights standards so that he may continue to represent his clients without further harassment.

APPEALS TO:

President  Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali,

Président de la République,

Palais de Carthage,

2016 Carthage,

Fax : +216 71 744 721

ou +216 71 731 009

Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi,

Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement,

Rue de la Kasbah,

1008 Tunis,

Fax : +216 71 562 378

Minister of Interior Hédi M'henni,

Ministère de l'Intérieur et du Développement local,

Avenue Habib Bourguiba,

1001 Tunis,

Fax : +216 71 354 331

Salutation: Monsieur le Ministre / Your Excellency

; e-mail :mint@ministeres.tn

Ministère de la Défense Nationale

Dali Jazi,

Ministère de la Défense Nationale,

Avenue Bab Mnara, La Kasbah, 1008 Tunis,

Fax : +216 71 561 804

Salutation: Monsieur le Ministre / Your Excellency

Minister of Justice and Human Rights /

Ministre de la Justice et des Droits de l’Homme

M. Bechir Tekkari

Ministère de la Justice et des Droits de l’Homme

31 Av. Bab Benat

1006 Tunis, La Kasbah, Tunisie

Fax: + 216 71 568 106

E-mail: mju@ministeres.tn

Salutation: Monsieur le Ministre / Your Excellency