Sihem Bensedrine

On 18 June 2008, Sihem Bensedrine and Omar Mestiri were stopped at the Tunisian-Algerian border while on their way to an event in Algeria to promote freedom of expression in the region. They were interrogated for approximately two and a half hours before being released. No reasons were given for their interrogation. Omar Mestiri is the chief editor of the online newspaper Kalima and Sihem Bensedrine is the founder and spokesperson of the Conseil national pour les libertés en Tunisie (CNLT) (National Council for Civil Liberties in Tunisia) and the Secretary-General for the Observatoire pour la Liberté de presse, d'édition et de création en Tunisie (OLPEC) (Observatory for the Freedom of the Press, Publication, and the Arts in Tunisia). On 7 February 2008, Sihem Bensedrine was awarded the 2008 Peace Prize by the Danish Peace Foundation.

Further Information

Posted 23/06/2008 On 3 March 2008 at 8.15am, Omar Mestiri and Sihem Bensedrine were returning to Tunis from a trip to Europe when they were subjected to a full-body search on their arrival at the port of La Goulette. They were then beaten and the documents and personal belongings they were carrying were confiscated by the police. Sihem Bensedrine suffered a sprained wrist and an injury to her elbow as a result of the assault. Omar Mestiri and Sihem Bensedrine, as well as all members of the CNLT, have been the victims of acts of aggression on the part of the Tunisian authorities since 1999 as a result of their activities in the defence of human rights.

Front Line believes that Omar Mestiri and Sihem Bensedrine have been targeted as part of an ongoing campaign of intimidation on the part of the Tunisian authorities against human rights defenders in order to dissuade them from continuing with their legitimate work in the defence of human rights.