Amnesty International Report 2004 - Tunisia

Covering events from January - December 2003

A law on combating "terrorism" was promulgated in December which raised concerns that human rights would be further eroded. Torture continued to be reported, including in the premises of the Ministry of the Interior. Hundreds of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, remained in prison. Many had been held for more than a decade. Real and alleged political opponents of the government continued to face unfair trials, often resulting in long prison sentences. Released political prisoners continued to be subjected to administrative control and other arbitrary measures, affecting their freedom of movement and right to work. The government recommended improvements in conditions in prisons and detention centres; however, solitary confinement and denial of medical care continued to be reported.

Background

In July, President Zine El 'Abidine Ben 'Ali announced his candidacy for the presidential elections of 2004, thereby seeking a fourth five-year term in office. The new Constitution, approved by a referendum in May 2002, allows the incumbent president to stand for an unlimited number of elections and raised the age limit from 70 to 75 years. A law was passed in August amending the electoral code. This forbids the use of privately owned or foreign television channels and radio stations to call on electors to vote for, or abstain from voting for, a candidate or list of candidates. Anyone violating the code would face a fine of 25,000 dinars (US$20,800).

In September the European Union (EU)-Tunisia Association Council met under the presidency of the Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs. AI issued a briefing paper detailing its concerns about draft "anti-terrorism" legislation (see below). At the meeting, the EU reportedly encouraged the Tunisian authorities to take steps to improve human rights, including freedom of expression and association.

Hundreds of illegal migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, were arrested by the Tunisian authorities during attempted journeys across the Mediterranean. Italy and Tunisia signed an agreement to combat illegal migration; under the agreement those caught will face prosecution on their return to Tunisia. In June the government announced a series of measures to control the flow of illegal migrants to Europe.

'Anti-terrorism' measures undermining human rights

On Human Rights Day, 10 December, President Ben Ali promulgated a new "anti-terrorism" law. The law contains a very broad definition of "terrorism", leaving it open to wide interpretation which could further undermine human rights. There were concerns that the exercising of the right to freedom of expression could be considered an act of "terrorism" and therefore lead to long sentences after unfair trials before military courts. The law allows for the extension for an undefined period of pre-trial detention, and lacks safeguards in relation to people facing extradition to countries where they could face serious human rights violations. Existing provisions of Tunisian legislation on "terrorism", especially Article 123 of the Military Justice Code and Article 52 of the Penal Code, have been used to criminalize peaceful opposition activities.

Torture

Torture and ill-treatment of detainees continued to be reported in detention centres, including the premises of the Ministry of the Interior in Tunis.

• Some 20 people arrested in February in the region of Zarzis, south of Tunis, in connection with accessing Islamist websites, were detained incommunicado reportedly by the State Security Department in the Interior Ministry. Four of the men alleged that during the first 10 days of detention, they suffered various forms of physical and psychological torture, including being beaten, suspended from the ceiling and threatened with electric shocks. One detainee reported that he was threatened that his mother and sister would be brought in, stripped naked and tortured in his presence. Their trial had not started by the end of the year.

Human rights defenders

Human rights defenders, including lawyers, continued to be intimidated and harassed in the course of their work. Several human rights associations continued to be denied authorization and were obstructed in their work. The judicial authorities reportedly refused to register several complaints lodged by human rights defenders after ill-treatment by the security forces.

• On 13 July, Radhia Nasraoui, a lawyer and human rights defender, was reportedly pushed against a wall and struck after crossing a police cordon outside a reception organized by the unauthorized Tunisian League of Free Writers. In June the authorities had refused to register the Association de lutte contre la torture en Tunisie (Association against Torture in Tunisia), a human rights organization established by Radhia Nasraoui.

Cruel and inhuman prison conditions

After increasing pressure from local and international human rights organizations, a Commission of Inquiry into prison conditions, announced by President Ben 'Ali in December 2002, reported back in February. The Commission reportedly identified overcrowding as a serious problem and concluded that extra equipment and qualified personnel were needed to improve prisoners' health. There was no report of improvements in the situation of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience who continued to suffer discrimination. Political prisoners continued to be subjected to arbitrary measures such as prolonged solitary confinement and denial of access to medical care.

• Habib Raddadi, who had been serving a 17-year prison sentence on charges of belonging to the unauthorized Islamist movement al-Nahda (Renaissance), died on 22 March in al-Haouareb prison after he was reportedly denied the necessary medical care and diet needed for hypertension. On 11 March he suffered a brain haemorrhage and was hospitalized, first in Kairouan and then in Sousse. According to his family, the prison warders in charge of his surveillance in hospital prevented his transfer to Tunis as recommended by doctors. When his family last saw him on 21 March, one of his arms and both his legs were still chained to the bed. He died the following day.

• Zouheir Yahiaoui, who was sentenced after an unfair trial to two years and four months' imprisonment in 2002 for spreading false information and misuse of Internet facilities, started a 42-day hunger strike in mid-May to protest against his continued detention and the prison conditions. He was reportedly being held in an overcrowded cell and denied adequate medical care and water. In July the Cassation Court upheld his sentence. He was conditionally released on 18 November after a national and international campaign.

Harassment and intimidation of former political prisoners

Scores of former political prisoners and prisoners of conscience continued to suffer arbitrary measures after their release. Some were denied basic rights such as the right to work and to have a medical card.

• Abdel-Majid Ben Tahar, a former prisoner, died on 12 October. He had been conditionally released in April 2002 with a brain tumour after serving eight years of a sentence of 12 years and nine months for belonging to al-Nahda. He had apparently been complaining of severe headaches for a year before being allowed a medical examination. "In the weeks that followed my release, the police would come several times a week to my house. They would walk into my bedroom and up to my bed to see if I had died," Abdel-Majid Ben Tahar told AI before he died. He was denied the right to have a passport and therefore the possibility to travel abroad to get medical treatment.

• In October, Abdallah Zouari, a journalist and former political prisoner, was sentenced to 13 months' imprisonment by an appeal court in the southern town of Médenine. The court confirmed earlier sentences – one of nine months' imprisonment for violating restrictions of movement imposed on former prisoners, and another of four months' imprisonment for defamation. In September 2002 he had been sentenced to eight months' imprisonment for failing to comply with the conditions of his administrative control, but was released on 5 November 2002 following a national and international campaign on his behalf.