Political Rights: 6
Civil Liberties: 5
Status: Not Free
Population: 9,900,000
GNI/Capita: $2,070
Life Expectancy: 73
Religious Groups: Muslim (98 percent), Christian (1 percent), Jewish (1 percent)
Ethnic Groups: Arab (98 percent), other (2 percent)
Capital: Tunis


Overview

The Tunisian government continued its repressive practices against suspected opposition figures during 2003. In its first report on Tunisia in more than a decade, Amnesty International accused the Tunisian government of systematic human rights abuses, including the arbitrary arrest and torture of suspected government opponents. President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali announced his intention to seek an unprecedented fourth term in office.

Nationalist pressures for Tunisian independence began in the 1930s under the leadership of Habib Bourguiba, leader of the Neo-Doustour party. Bourguiba became the country's first president when Tunisia gained independence in 1956 after more than 70 years as a French protectorate. Bourguiba's vision for Tunisia led to significant initiatives in the areas of social and economic development, including the promotion of one of the most liberal personal status codes in the Arab world that ceded significant rights to women and remains unmatched in the Arab world today. He also furthered education and spending on economic development projects. However, political rights and civil liberties were severely restricted under Bourguiba's rule.

In 1987, President Ben Ali, formerly the minister of the interior, led a bloodless coup, deposing the aging Bourguiba and promising to open the political system. After an initial period of minor political reform, Ben Ali cracked down harshly on the Islamist opposition. Over time, the government's repressive practices extended beyond the Islamist opposition, with hundreds of dissidents having been jailed over the last 15 years for peacefully exercising their civil liberties.

The government's tolerance for dissent continued to diminish in 2003, which saw the continuation of widespread and systematic government abuse of human rights. Amnesty International issued a 40-page report that chronicled Tunisia's "cycle of injustice" and that pointed out a disturbing discrepancy between laws and practice. According to the report, government opponents – or anyone critical of the government – are subjected to arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention (without access to a lawyer or family), torture, and imprisonment. While certain changes in Tunisian law provide more human rights guarantees, other legal changes, including a vague definition of "terrorism," undermine basic human rights. In other cases, rights have improved in law, but are widely violated in practice.

In July, Ben Ali – who won the last election in 1999 with 99.4 percent of the vote – announced plans to seek an unprecedented fourth 5-year term in office in 2004. A constitutional referendum last year removed the three-term limit on the presidency, paving the way for Ben Ali's decision. The referendum also raised to 75 the maximum age to become president, which means that Ben Ali will be eligible to stand again for office in 2009. Under this scenario, Ben Ali could be president until 2014.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Tunisians cannot change their government democratically. The 1959 constitution accords the president significant powers, including the right to select the prime minister and cabinet, to rule by decree when the legislature is not in session, and to appoint the governors of Tunisia's 23 provinces. The legislature, by contrast, serves as a rubber stamp for the president's policies and does not provide a check on executive power. Presidential elections lack any pretense of competition. Although parliamentary elections are contrived to allow for the appearance of a multiparty legislature, the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) holds 148 of the 182 seats. Opposition parties play a symbolic role at best. The authorities have used "security concerns" as a pretext for repression of political dissent and critical discourse across the political spectrum.

Tunisia's press freedoms are among the most restricted in the Arab world. The government controls domestic broadcasting, as well as the circulation of both domestic and foreign publications. In addition, the government uses newsprint subsidies and control over public advertising revenues as a means for indirect censorship. Since President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali's ascent to power, Tunisian journalists who are critical of the regime have been harassed, threatened, imprisoned, physically attacked, and censored. Two Tunisian journalists, Zouhair Yahyaoui and Hamadi Jebali, are currently in prison. Internet access is tightly controlled, and the government will at times intervene to block access to opposition Web sites.

While Islam is the state religion, the government allows for the free practice of all religions as long as it does not disturb the public order. The government controls and subsidizes mosques and pays the salaries of prayer leaders. The 1988 law on mosques stipulates that only those appointed by the government may lead activities in the mosques, which are required to remain closed except during prayer times. Academic freedom is severely restricted.

Freedom of association and assembly are sharply curtailed. After one opposition party, the Democratic Forum for Labor and Freedom, was legalized last year – eight years after its formation – the number of authorized political parties in the country increased to seven. However, several parties continue to be denied authorization. In addition, a number of politically oriented nongovernmental organizations remain unauthorized. For example, the founders of two organizations – the Tunisian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners – have repeatedly faced obstructions in trying to become legally established. The government refuses to legalize most independent human rights organizations; their property has been subjected to vandalism and their offices to suspicious break-ins.

Human rights defenders, particularly lawyers, have been subjected to increased government harassment, including physical beatings. In August, a disabled former political prisoner was beaten on a Tunis street by four men in plainclothes; he had previously been assaulted twice in a similar fashion by state security officers. Another former political prisoner received a nine-month sentence on politically motivated charges. Both men had been helpful to international human rights organizations conducting research on Tunisia. Dissidents are frequently subjected to heavy police surveillance, travel bans, dismissals from work, interruptions in phone service, and harassment of family members. In October, Radhia Nasraoui, a leading human rights activist, initiated a hunger strike to protest systematic government harassment, beatings, and police surveillance.

There is no independent judiciary in Tunisia, with the government having used the courts to convict and imprison critics. Amnesty International has documented a pattern of executive interference in the administration of justice. At all stages of criminal proceedings, guarantees for a free trial under Tunisian and international law are disregarded. Defendants' files at times are confiscated or tampered with at trials, and political prisoners are subjected to harsh prison conditions, including solitary confinement. Arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention occur with frequency, and torture is often used to coerce confessions. Numerous political trials failed to comply with international standards for a fair trial.

Women enjoy substantial rights, and the government has worked to advance women's rights in the areas of property ownership and support to divorced women. However, inheritance law still discriminates against women. Unlike in many countries in the Arab world, citizenship rights to a child are conveyed through either the mother or the father.

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