23 February 2005
FREE EXPRESSION UNDER SIEGE, SAYS IFEX MONITORING GROUP
The Tunisian government must take serious steps to respect international standards on freedom of expression and other human rights if it is to earn its standing as the host of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in November 2005, says the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG).
The TMG, composed of 13 national, regional and international free expression organisations, has issued a 60-page report in which it expresses "grave concern" about the poor state of freedom of expression in Tunisia.
Released to coincide with the second Preparatory Committee for the WSIS in Geneva (17-25 February 2005), "Tunisia: Freedom of Expression Under Siege" details the findings of a TMG mission to Tunisia in January.
The mission found numerous incidents of human rights violations in Tunisia, including the use of torture by security services, imprisonment of individuals who expressed their opinions, restrictions on freedom of association, police surveillance of e-mails and the blocking of news and information websites. The TMG also found a lack of pluralism in broadcast media ownership, attempts to block the distribution of books and publications, and routine press censorship.
The TMG report lays out recommendations for Tunisia to bring the country in line with international human rights standards, including ending harassment and intimidation of human rights activists, lifting controls on websites and respecting individuals' rights to freedom of movement, assembly and association.
It also urges the government to release all prisoners of opinion and cyber-dissidents, including Hamadi Jebali, editor of the weekly "Al Fajr" (http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/57151), and the so-called Youth of Zarzis - seven cyberdissidents who have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for allegedly using the Internet to commit terrorism. During the trials, no evidence of wrongdoing was presented, according to the dissidents' lawyers and local and international human rights groups (http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/63281/).
Read the full report here: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/64665/
Visit:
- IFEX News about WSIS: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/50685/
- IFEX Alerts on Tunisia: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/85/
- Reporters Without Borders: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12584
- Cyber-dissidents Tell Their Stories: http://www.radionongrata.info/index2.htm
- Human Rights Watch Backgrounder on Tunisia: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/tunisi9801.htm
- International Federation of Journalists: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=2970&Language=EN
- WSIS News in Arabic:
http://www.wsisarabicnews.org/
- WSIS Official Website:
http://www.itu.int/wsis/
- UNESCO Conference on Free Expression in Cyberspace: http://tinyurl.com/5ndrv
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