Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2004 - Tunisia

Continued harassment of the LTDH and its members

Legal proceedings

Proceedings against the steering committee of the LTDH⁷⁷

The appeal to quash the proceedings against the steering committee of the Tunisian League for Human Rights (Ligue tunisienne des droits de l'Homme – LTDH), following its 5th congress, is still under way. On 21 June 2001, the Tunis court of appeal confirmed the verdict of the court of first instance to cancel the proceedings of the last LTDH congress (October 2000), on the basis of a complaint lodged by four LTDH members, supporters of the Democratic Constitutional Party (Rassemblement constitutionnel démocratique – RCD, ruling party).

Legal proceedings against LTDH sections⁷⁸

Gabès section. In December 2002, after the congress of the Gabès section was held in spite of the ban issued in October 2002, a participant lodged a complaint to have the proceedings cancelled. The cancellation was confirmed by a decision of the Gabès court of first instance on 12 May 2003. At the end of 2004, since the LTDH had still not been legally notified of the verdict, it has not been able to appeal yet.

Korba and Kébilia sections and Hammam-Lif Ez-zahra and Radhès sections. Summary judgements were handed down against the LTDH on 29 November and 20 December 2003, respectively cancelling the general assemblies of these sections on account of the refusal by certain RCD members to merge the Korba and Kébilia sections and the Hammam-Lif Ez-zahra and Radhès sections. On 5 January 2005, the Tunis court of first instance confirmed the summary judgement in the case of the Hammam-Lif Ez-zahra and Radhès sections. The judgement on the merits in the case of the Korba and Kébilia sections was to be ruled on 26 January 2005 by the Tunis court of first instance.

Sfax section. On 18 January 2003, four members of the Sfax section, RCD supporters, lodged a complaint against the LTDH, which had convened a congress for 1 and 2 February 2003 in order to set up a second branch in Sfax. On 30 January 2003, the judge in chambers decided to stay the committee's decision to hold the two congresses. This ruling was confirmed by both the Tunis court of first instance on 25 June 2003, and the Tunis court of appeal on 29 June 2004. As at the end of 2004, the LTDH had not been able to appeal with the Supreme Court of Appeals (Cour de Cassation) since the League had not been legally notified of the verdict.

Monastir section. In 2002, the owner of the premises of the section obtained cancellation of the tenancy contract which had just been signed with the LTDH, stating that she was not in full possession of her faculties at the time of signing. The LTDH, which appealed the decision, was able to rent another office as from September 2003. However, the appeal proceedings were still under way as at the end of 2004.

La Goulette – Le Kram and La Marsa sections. The merger of La Goulette – Le Kram and La Marsa sections was to be announced at a congress on 9 May 2004. However, the urgent applications judge in chambers ruled on 6 May to stay the committee's decision to hold this congress, after LTDH members, also RCD supporters, lodged several complaints. The judgement on the merits of the case was adjourned until 16 March 2005.

Touzeur and Nefta sections. On 6 October 2004, after complaints were lodged by RCD members, the judge in chambers decided to stay the decision of the LTDH committee to hold a congress on 10 October 2004 in order to merge the Touzeur and Nefta sections. The merits of the case were supposed to be examined on 16 March 2005.

Le Bardo, El-Omrane and El-Menzah sections. After the announcement of the merger of the Le Bardo, El-Omrane and El-Menzah sections, which was to be confirmed at a joint congress on 5 December 2004, some RCD members lodged a complaint. On 4 December, the judge in chambers decided to stay the committee's decision to hold the congress. The judgement on the merits of the case was scheduled for 12 February 2005.

Continued obstacles to LTDH funding⁷⁹

In April 2001, the European Union (EU) granted funding to the LTDH for its modernisation and restructuring under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). While the first volume of the grant was allocated, the second volume has been frozen by the Tunisian authorities since August 2003, on the grounds of Law No. 154 (1959) and the decree of 8 May 1922 on charities "recognised of national interest", although the LTDH does come under this status.

On 9 January 2004, in reply to a question in Parliament concerning EU funding of independent NGOs in Tunisia, the European Union's Commissioner for External Relations, Mr. Christopher Patten, stated that the "European Commission had raised the issue with the Tunisian authorities" and that they had "explained that Law (No. 154) is indeed applicable to all Tunisian NGOs receiving foreign funding", but that "in a spirit of tolerance and conciliation" it had not been applied to the first payment by the Commission within the framework of this project. Moreover, the authorities recalled that the LTDH had been the object of a court ruling restricting its activities to the preparation of its forthcoming general assembly and re-election of its board of directors.

In 2004, the BIAT bank where the LTDH had its account registered returned the second volume of funding to Brussels.

On 27 December 2004, a second funding contract for developing a programme on the administration of justice was signed between the LTDH and the EU. However, shortly before the contract was signed, the Tunisian authorities informed the EU delegation in Tunis that the LTDH would only be able to receive the funding once the judgement, limiting its activities to the preparation of a congress, had been executed. It should be noted that this second refusal by the Tunisian authorities did not include any legal basis justifying the decision.

Without this funding, the LTDH faced serious financial difficulties, thus restricting its activities.

Legal proceedings and harassment of LTDH leaders and members⁸⁰

A complaint was lodged in December 2002 against Mr. Hamda Mezguich, member of the Bizerte section, by a member of the LTDH, RCD supporter of the Jendouba Section, for alleged "acts of violence" during the Jendouba Congress (September 2002). The proceedings were still under way.

At the end of 2004, the legal proceedings against Messrs. Mokhtar Trifi and Slaheddine Jourchi, president and first vice-president of the LTDH, were still under way. They were charged with "failing to abide by a court verdict" in December 2000 and "circulating false information" in March 2001.

On 12 February 2002, Mr. Khémaïs Ksila, LTDH secretary-general forced into exile, was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison and a 10,000 dinars (6,350 euros) fine on a common-law charge. The sentence was confirmed on 12 February 2004, in the absence of Mr. Ksila's lawyers.

Numerous acts of harassment were perpetrated in 2004 against Mr. Mongi Ben Salem, president of the Gabès section. Mr. Ben Salem and his wife also received many anonymous telephone calls over the year.

Mrs. Safia Mestiri Chebbi, president of the La Goulette-Le Kram-La Marsa section, was sentenced on 30 June 2004 by the Carthage Cantonal Court to a 60 dinars (37 euros) fine, on the fallacious charge of "insulting a civil servant". On 8 December 2004, the sentence was upheld in appeal by the Tunis court of first instance. Mrs. Mestiri Chebbi appealed this decision with the Supreme Court, and the proceedings were still under way as at the end of 2004.

Obstacles to the activities of the LTDH

Obstacles to freedom of assembly

On 24 January 2004, the LTDH organised a "national prisoners' day". Peaceful demonstrations were planned in front of various prisons throughout the country to demand the right to visit detention centres, monitor the conditions of detention and ensure that prisoners' rights were respected. LTDH delegations were also to meet with prison directors.

In Tunis, Mr. Mokhtar Trifi, president of the LTDH, along with steering committee members and activists, were tightly surrounded by the police, as they were walking to the 9 of April Prison. A significant police force, deployed around the prison, blocked access to the building, and policemen forced back anyone suspected of coming to attend the demonstration.

In Bizerte, Jendouba, Kairouan, Sousse and Sfax, LTDH members and delegations were prevented from approaching the prisons by police blockades on access roads. The offices of these sections were also surrounded by the police. In Mednine and Monastir, delegations were able to approach the prisons, but were refused interviews with the directors.

Obstacles to holding a conference⁸¹

On 28 November 2004, a few weeks after the presidential and parliamentary elections of 24 October 2004, the Kairouan section of the LTDH organised a conference and debate on the Tunisian Electoral Code, to which numerous well-known figures, activists, civil society organisations and representatives of political parties were invited.

The day before the conference was due to be held, the president of the Kairouan section of the LTDH, Mr. Massoud Romdhani, was summoned by the local authorities and police, who told him he would not be permitted to hold the conference if representatives of the Communist Workers' Party of Tunisia (Parti Communiste Ouvrier de Tunisie – PCOT), an "unauthorised organisation", were invited to attend the event. In the name of freedoms of assembly and opinion, Mr. Romdhani nevertheless decided to allow all the guests invited to attend the conference. On the morning of 28 November, a significant police force was deployed around the office of the Kairouan section of the LTDH, where the conference was to be held, and on the roads to the city. Several participants were stopped as they entered Kairouan, including Mr. Mohamed Jmour, a member of the Tunisian Bar Association, and Mr. Khelil Zaouia, a member of the LTDH steering committee. The police, on the orders of the Kairouan district chief, also prevented the activists gathered in front of the section office from entering the premises, before violently breaking up the gathering. Several persons were roughly handled, including Mr. Abderrahmane Hedhili, a member of the LTDH steering committee, and Mrs. Radhia Nasraoui, a lawyer and president of the Tunisian Association Against Torture (Association de lutte contre la torture en Tunisie – ALTT), who was pushed around and forced into her car. Mrs. Nasraoui's husband, Mr. Hamma Hammami, spokesperson for the PCOT, was violently kicked by the policemen.

Pressure on the CNLT and its members

Mrs. Sihem Ben Sedrine assaulted⁸²

Mrs. Sihem Ben Sedrine, spokesperson for the National Council for Freedoms in Tunisia (Conseil national des libertés en Tunisie – CNLT), a writer and a journalist, was assaulted on the street on 5 January 2004 as she was walking to her home, which is also the CNLT head office in Tunis.

She was knocked to the ground by an unidentified individual who attacked her in the presence of two associates. Mrs. Ben Sedrine was punched several times, her lip was split and she was badly bruised.

It is believed that the assault was carried out on the orders of the Tunisian security services, which keep the CNLT building under constant surveillance.

Om Zied's sentence confirmed⁸³

On 25 September 2003, Mrs. Neziha Rejiba, alias Om Zied, was accused of "illegally possessing foreign currency". She is the editor of Kalima – a newspaper banned by the Tunisian authorities – and in charge of communications for the liaison committee of the CNLT. She was accused of having given 170 euros to a relative of a Tunisian political refugee, upon her return from France.

On 18 November 2003, Om Zied was given an 8 months suspended jail sentence in and 1,200 dinars (760 euros) fine by the court of first instance of Tunis.

On 28 February 2004, the Tunis court of appeal confirmed this sentence. Om Zeid refused to attend the hearing to protest against the political nature of her trial and was therefore sentenced in absentia.

For several years, Om Zied had been harassed because of her articles and criticism of the Tunisian authorities. Her home was under constant surveillance by a team of policemen in plain clothes and her phone was bugged. Her family was also being harassed: on 19 June 2004, the border police held her son Amine for more than three hours at the Tunis international airport, as he was about to travel abroad. His luggage was searched, without any warrant nor explanation. However, one of the policemen told him that they had received "orders from higher up".

Harassment of several members of CNLT⁸⁴

Mr. Hammad Ali Bedoui, brother of Dr. Moncef Marzouki, former LTDH president and spokesman of the CNLT, was forced into exile in 2004 and now lives in Europe. Mr. Ali Bedoui, who had been systematically harassed and persecuted by the authorities for the past few years, was placed under house arrest on 3 January 2004.

In July 2004, Mr. Sami Nasr, a researcher at the CNLT, was informed of the refusal of the Ministry of the Interior to enrol him as an assistant in Sociology, in spite of the positive notice of the jury. There is every indication that this measure aimed at punishing Mr. Nasr's activities within the CNLT.

In 2004, Mr. Abderraouf Ayaydi, a lawyer and CNLT member, continued to be subjected to recurrent acts of harassment. His office was under constant surveillance as well as his every move, whilst his clients were regularly threatened by the police forces. In November 2003, he addressed the Tunisian Bar Association of his situation and lodged a complaint against the Ministry of the Interior for hindering his professional activities. As of end 2004, no follow-up was given to this case.

Obstacles to freedom of reunion and ill-treatment⁸⁵

On 11 December 2004, the police prevented the general assembly of the CNLT from being held. Over 150 policemen surrounded the organisation's headquarters in Tunis, verbally and bodily threatened the CNLT members to keep them from entering the building before violently dispersing the participants. At that time, Mr. Mongi Ben Salah, a trade-unionist and vice-chairman of the Monastir section of the LTDH was dragged on the ground for several meters, insulted and beaten on his body, stomach and face by about ten policemen. The treasurers of the liaison committee of CNLT, Messrs. Lofti Hidouri and Nourredine Ben Ticha, were also severely beaten. Mrs. Sihem Bensedrine and Mr. Ahmed Kilani, CNLT members, were violently pushed and shoved while they tried to assist those who were being ill-treated. The victims were even harassed by the police all the way into the medical centers were they were taken to in order to receive cares. They lodged a complaint with the Public Prosecutor; at the end of 2004, no follow-up had been given to these proceedings.

Faced with this situation, the CNLT general assembly was postponed until 16 January 2005, when the police again surrounded the organisation's headquarters. They told the members that they had been firmly instructed to prevent by any means the meeting from being held. Under such a threat, CNLT members were forced to cancel the event.

Further harassment of ALTT and its members

Refusal to register the ALTT⁸⁶

Since 2003, the numerous requests of the Tunisian Association Against Torture (Association de lutte contre la torture en Tunisie – ALTT) to get registered with the authorities have systematically been rejected. The ALTT was unable to submit the required documents for its legal recognition to the offices of the Governorate of Tunis, which, according to the law, is an essential condition to obtain a legal receipt for these documents.

On 8 June 2004, Mrs. Radhia Nasraoui, president of the ALTT, Mr. Ali Ben Salem, vice-president, and Mr. Ridha Barakati, treasurer of the association, were denied access to the department in charge of the requests' deposit, and were verbally and physically aggressed by government representatives and members of the State security police.

Faced with this violence and the impossibility of registering their organisation, ALTT members decided to organise a sit-in in front of Governorate headquarters. They were violently dispersed and Mrs. Radhia Nasraoui was taken to a little, isolated street by several policemen who kept her there for almost two hours whilst seemingly awaiting further instructions. Mr. Ben Salem was forced into the subway and Mr. Barakati was sent away in a taxi.

Threats and harassment of Mr. Chokri Latif⁸⁷

On 10 July 2004, Mr. Chokri Latif, ALTT secretary general, was called in by the police for the second time that week. He was questioned as to his personal responsibility for publications which are deemed "illegal" and his membership in an organisation that is "not recognised by law". After the questioning, he was officially informed that he was liable to be taken to court on these grounds. Mr. Latif is also a writer and a member of the Assembly for Alternative International Development (Rassemblement pour une alternative internationale de développement – RAID-ATTAC) and of the Tunisian section of Amnesty International.

Continued harassment of Mrs. Radhia Nasraoui⁸⁸

For several years now, Mrs. Radhia Nasraoui has been closely watched by the police and hindered in her activities as a lawyer. Upon her return from Côte d'Ivoire in October 2004, where she took part in an UN enquiry commission for three months, she, her family and her clients were subjected to an increased harassment (tighter tailing, also aimed at her younger daughter, closer police surveillance of her office and her house, as well as of her mother's home, etc.).

A meeting organised at her house on 17 November 2004 was disrupted by an important police force who cordoned off the neighboring area. This meeting intended to gather activists in support of Messrs. Najib and Jalel Zoghlami, brothers of the journalist Mr. Taoufik Ben Brick legally defended by Mrs. Nasraoui. As she was coming home, the police tried to open her car door to force one of her relatives out. About 20 people on hunger strike were supposed to meet at Mrs. Nasraoui home, yet only six of them who were able to enter the building as they arrived before the police.

Pressure on the AISPP and its members⁸⁹

In spite of the numerous requests submitted by the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners (Association internationale pour le soutien des prisonniers politiques – AISPP), created in November 2002, to obtain legal recognition with the Ministry of the Interior, the organisation was still not recognised by the Tunisian authorities.

On 3 January 2004, a major deployment of police officers prevented the AISPP from holding its annual general meeting.

The receipt for the deposit for the registration application was not returned to the association until 22 March 2004. On 22 June 2004, the AISPP received notification of the authorities' refusal to register the association without any explanation, in breach of Article 5 of the law No. 154 of 1959 on associations, which provides that reasons must be given for any decision to refuse a constitution.

In August 2004, a major police operation took place to prevent the association's annual general meeting from being held. This meeting had already been postponed following its ban on 3 January 2003. The weekly meetings of the executive committee, held at the organisation's head office or at the homes of its members, were systematically impeded by major deployment of police forces.

In addition, the movements and professional activities of Mr. Mohamed Nouri, AISPP chairman, were closely watched throughout 2004. In particular, several police officers in plain clothes were posted every day near to his office, and his clients were regularly intimidated.

Pressure on RAID-ATTAC⁹⁰

As at the end of 2004, the Assembly for Alternative International Development (Rassemblement pour une alternative internationale de développement – RAID-ATTAC) had still not been legally recognised by the Tunisian authorities.

The association's second congress,⁹¹ which was to be held first at the LTDH headquarters then at the head office of the Democratic Progressive Party (Parti démocratique progressiste – PDP, an opposition party), in Tunis, on 26 and 27 June 2004, was banned by the Ministry of the Interior.

It was postponed to 24 and 25 October 2004, when it was again prohibited by the authorities.

Harassment of the League of Free Tunisian Writers and its members⁹²

The League of Free Tunisian Writers (Ligue des écrivains libres), which was set up in 2001, had still not received legal status as at the end of 2004 and its members and activities remained severely repressed in the course of the year.

On 27 June 2004, for example, the police prevented Mr. Habib Hamdouni, a member of the League, from attending a conference on freedom of association organised by the Sfax section of the LTDH.

Moreover, on 15 July 2004, a meeting, arranged at the home of Mr. Jalloul Azzouna, chairman of the League, to commemorate the third anniversary of the creation of the association, was impeded by the police, who cordoned off the area, preventing the participants from entering the building, and mishandled some of them.

Tunisian activists prevented from taking part in an international conference⁹³

As a result of strong pressure, Mr. Mokhtar Trifi, Mrs. Khedija Cherif, vice-president of the Tunisian Association of Women Democrats (Association tunisienne des femmes démocrates – ATFD) and Mr. Alya Cherif Chammari, a member of the board of the 95 Maghreb Egalité Collective and of the Centre for the Independence of Justice and Lawyers (Centre pour l'indépendance de la justice et des avocats – CIJA), were prevented from attending a regional conference held in Sanaa (Yemen) on "democracy, human rights and the role of the International Criminal Court". This conference took place from 10 to 12 January 2004, on the joint initiative of the authorities of the Republic of Yemen and of the international association "No Peace Without Justice", with financial backing from the European Commission.⁹⁴

As a result of the Tunisian authorities' opposition to the participation of the three guests representing Tunisian civil society, they were told they would not be welcome in Yemen. After numerous interventions in an attempt to obtain visas for Mrs. Cherif and Mrs. Cherif Chammari (Mr. Trifi cancelled his departure on principle), the Yemen Consul in Tunisia acknowledged that the Tunisian authorities had exercised pressure so that the visas would not be granted.

Mr. Patrick Baudouin refused entry⁹⁵

On 13 April 2004, Mr. Patrick Baudouin, lawyer at the Paris Bar and honorary president of the FIDH, was turned back upon his arrival at the Tunis-Carthage airport by the Tunisian authorities without explanation.

Mr. Patrick Baudouin was flying to Tunis to take part in a press conference to launch the publication of the Observatory's 2003 Annual Report. The conference, due to be held in Tunis on 14 April 2004, was organised in partnership with the LTDH.

Mr. Patrick Baudouin has been denied entry to the Tunisian territory on three occasions since 1996.

Judicial harassment of Mr. Taoufik Ben Brick and his family⁹⁶

Mr. Taoufik Ben Brick, a journalist and founding member of the CNLT, has been prosecuted, since 1 November 2004, on the fallacious charge of "offences against morality" (article 226 bis of the Criminal Code), an offence carrying an up to 6 months jail term.

The first hearing took place on 24 November 2004, when the case was adjourned until 8 December 2004, and then until 6 January 2005. On that date, although the judge had decided to handle a confrontation between the plaintiffs, the witnesses for the prosecution and Mr. Ben Brick, his lawyers, including Mrs. Radhia Nasraoui, were barred from attending the hearing, on the grounds that "their presence was intimidating for the judge and the parties". The defence lawyers were finally able to attend the hearing, following the intervention of the Bar Council. However, the hearing was once again adjourned until 12 January 2005.

In addition, Mr. Najib Zoghlami and the journalist Mr. Jalel Zoghlami, brothers of Mr. Ben Brick, were arrested in September 2004 and sentenced, on 4 November 2004, to one year imprisonment on 11 fallacious common-law charges (including: carrying knives, damaging the property of others, attempted assault, offences against morality, being inebriated, theft). This sentence was reduced to eight months' imprisonment by the Tunis court of appeal on 29 December 2004.

Two of Mr. Ben Brick's brothers (including Mr. Jalel Zoghlami), his sister and his brother-in-law, were summoned to appear, on 17 December 2004, for disrupting the hearing on 10 August 2004 during the trial of Mr. Jalel Zoghlami. On that date, the hearing was adjourned until 25 February 2005.

Moreover, Mrs. Ahlem Belhadj, Mr. Jalel Zoghlami's wife and president of the Tunisian Association of Women Democrats (Association tunisienne des femmes démocrates – ATFD), was subjected to constant acts of harassment (close surveillance of her home and telephone lines, professional reprisals, etc.).

Lastly, Mrs. Belhadj and her children, as well as all the relatives of Messrs. Najib and Jalel Zoghlami, respectively imprisoned in the Mornag (25 km south of Tunis) and Borg el-Amri (25 km west of Tunis) prisons, were subjected to numerous constraints to obtain visiting rights.

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[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

77. Idem.

78. Idem.

79. See Annual Report 2003 and Urgent Appeal TUN 001/0504/OBS 034.

80. See Annual Report 2003.

81. See Open Letter to the Tunisian authorities, 2 December 2004.

82. See Press Release, 8 January 2004.

83. Idem.

84. See Annual Report 2003 and Urgent Appeal TUN 001/0105/OBS 007.

85. See Urgent Appeal TUN 001/0105/OBS 007.

86. See Annual Report 2003 and Urgent Appeal TUN 001/0105/OBS 030.1.

87. See Urgent Appeal TUN 001/0105/OBS 030.2

88. See Annual Report 2003 and Open Letter to the Tunisian authorities, 2 December 2004.

89. See Annual Report 2003, Press Release, 8 January 2004 and Urgent Appeal TUN 002/0704/OBS 051.

90. Idem.

91. In 2001, the Ministry of the Interior tried to prevent the first congress from being held and the police acted violently against the RAID-ATTAC members.

92. See Annual Report 2003.

93. See Press Release, 8 January 2004.

94. This conference was preceded by a workshop organised by the FIDH together with the Yemenite association "Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights" (SAF) and the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC).

95. See Press Release, 13 April 2004.

96. See Press Release, 2 December 2004.