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IDHAE INFORMATION
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IDHAE denounces as "disgraceful" the upholding of a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence imposed on lawyer Mohammed Abbou for posting allegedly inaccurate news online and jostling a female colleague nearly three years ago. Neither he nor his lawyers were allowed to contest the charges at 10 June appeals court hearing. Mr. Abbou, a prominent human
rights lawyer and a member of the National Committee for Liberties in Tunisia
was arrested in March for publishing statements that were "likely to
disturb public order" and for "defaming the judicial process"
On 28 April he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and the decision
was upheld in June at his appeal. The statements, which appeared in an
article on the website Tunisnews.net in April 2004, compared the torture and
ill treatment suffered by Tunisian prisoners to that suffered by prisoners in
Abu Ghraib, Iraq. Many observers believe that Mr
Abbou was in fact being punished for another article posted just days before
his arrest on Tunisnews.net, in which he criticised a government decision to
invite the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to attend the WSIS. Tunisian and international human
rights organisations have condemned the trial of Mr Abbou as unfair and
arbitrary. Lawyers, journalists, diplomats and Mr. Abbou's wife were expelled
from the courtroom leaving only legal observers from international NGO's
present. Brigitte Azema-Peyret, a French
lawyer sent by Front Line and Amnesty International to observe the appeal
proceedings said: "The court did not even try to give a legal appearance
to its sentence. The defendant could never be heard; neither could his
lawyers or witnesses. The court by no means wished to be informed on the
facts but hastened to carry out orders with contempt for any rule of
procedure. " See
the REPORT by Me Brigitte AZEMA-PEYRET at : idhae-fr-page4.1.tun8.htm"(In
French only) Both Mr Abbou and his wife went on
hunger strike for a few days on 25 July They wanted to draw attention to what
happens to people in their country who voice their dissent. The lawyers and
family of Mr Abbou believed his food in prison may have been drugged as
psychological and physical problems he was experiencing ceased when he
stopped eating. President Ben Ali has continuously
expressed his commitment to the development of the Internet while according
to the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LTDH), publinets
(internet cafes) are being monitored by the telecommunications ministry and
people exploring the net have been harassed, arrested and sentenced to heavy
prison terms following unfair trials. In 2002 a cyber police unit was set up
to track down and block "subversive" websites, intercept attempts
to reach sites containing "political or critical" material and
track down "over-active" internet users In January of this year the
Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) under the umbrella of the International
Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) undertook a fact-finding mission to
evaluate conditions for The WSIS in November. Their report "Tunisia:
Freedom of expression under siege" expresses grave concerns about human
rights violations in Tunisia including the use of torture by security
services, imprisonment of individuals who express their opinions, blocking of
news and information websites including international NGO's and restrictions
on freedom of association. According to the TMG-IFEX report, more Tunisians
have been arrested for expressing their opinion on the Internet in the last
three years than people arrested for views in the print media since Tunisian
independence 48 years ago. The human rights community in
Tunisia has also been under sustained harassment and pressure from state
authorities. On 7 September the Tunisian Journalists Union was prohibited
from holding its first conference. The authorities locked the Association of
Tunisian judges out of its offices for taking a public position in favour of
the independence of the judiciary, and the LTDH were prevented from holding
its 6th congress on 9 September. The Mahdia section of the LTDH were
reportedly attacked by police on 18 September for attempting to hold a
meeting and the section president, Mohamed Attia was brought to hospital
after suffering a heart attack which the LDTD believe was brought on by the police
beatings he received. IDHAE has called on the Tunisian
government to release Mohammed Abbou immediately and unconditionally and to
ensure that human rights defenders are permitted to carry out their
legitimate human rights work without fear of reprisal in conformity with the
UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. Background : Mohamed Abbou, 39 year old, a lawyer and member of the National
Council for Civil Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT), has been arrested on 2nd 2 March and detained on charges of
disseminating false information, libel, enticing people to break the law and
publishing offences for publishing an article in August 2004 denouncing
torture in Tunisia following the interest generated by images of torture
practised on Iraqi prisoners in Abou Ghraib. However, it is widely believed
that his arrest was linked to a recent article he wrote on Ariel Sharon's
visit to Tunisia. (See : http://www.idhae.org/idhae-uk-page4.1.tun6.htm) The Tunisian lawyer and
militant of the human rights has been condemned during the night of 28th to 29th April 2005 to three
years and six months of jail for
publishing statements "likely to disturb public order" and for
"defaming the judicial process."
In
a tense climate, defence qualified the trial
of " politics for offence of opinion ". This verdict has been pronounced by the
4th criminal Chamber of the court of
first instance of Tunis. The Court judged the lawyer for two distinct cases : publication of an article on internet denouncing the torture in
Tunisian jails and complaint of a
lawyer for " violence ". Abbou's
arrest and imprisonment is a
violation of his right to free speech.
According to the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, all
persons have the right "freely to publish, impart or disseminate to
others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental
freedoms." The important work of
Tunisian human rights defenders should be recognized by the government and
they should be supported rather than persecuted for their activities. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible, in Arabic, French and English, or your own language: calling on the authorities to immediate release of
Tunisian lawyer Mohamed Abbou 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
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