16 March 2005
IFEX MEMBERS MOURN DEATH OF FREE EXPRESSION DEFENDER
IFEX members are paying tribute to Tunisian cyber-dissident Zouhair Yahyaoui, who died suddenly of a heart attack on 13 March 2005 in Tunis. He was 36 years old.
Yahyaoui was the founder and editor of the satirical website "TUNeZINE" and internationally respected as a human rights defender. He was imprisoned for his activities by the Tunisian regime on 4 June 2002 and was not released until November 2003 following pressure from international campaigners. After his release he continued to publish "TUNeZINE" and to speak out on human rights.
The IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group met Yahyaoui during its January 2005 fact-finding mission to Tunisia. He told the group of his experiences of being harassed and tortured by government agents for expressing his views.
A 60-page report released in February by the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group expresses grave concern about the state of freedom of expression in Tunisia and recommends steps the Tunisian government should take to bring the country in line with international human rights standards (see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/50685/).
For more information, see:
- IFEX-TMG Statement:
http://tinyurl.com/dte2f
- Index on Censorship:
http://tinyurl.com/a4drj
- IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/50685/
- TUNeZINE:
http://www.tunezine.com/
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