Attacks on human rights defenders in Tunisia escalate
A group of over 20 human rights organisations released a joint press statement detailing the recent harassment of human rights defenders in Tunisia, which has increased significantly in the last weeks. Press Release
Over 20 human rights organizations condemned the increased repression against human rights defenders and lawyers on 23 May in Tunisia.
On 11 May 2006, head of the newly established independent Syndicate of Journalists, Lotfi Hajji, was detained and interrogated for four hours after he was accused of holding a secret meeting.
On 18 May 2006, Tunisian authorities prevented the family of recently deceased human rights defender, Adel Arfaoui, from entering the headquarters of the Tunisian League for Human Rights to attend a memorial ceremony in his honour.
Security forces attacked Yves Steiner, a member of the executive office of the Swiss Branch of Amnesty International, while he was attending the annual general meeting of the Amnesty International Tunisia Branch. He was detained and asked to leave Tunisia on 21 May 2006.
On Tuesday 23 May, in yet another attempt to repress independent voices, security forces attacked a number of lawyers and stormed into the office of Abdel Sattar Moussa, the head of the Tunisian Bar Association and confiscated a number of his documents. This is a violation of the law and all international norms.
The signatory human rights organizations seriously condemn these attacks and announce their full solidarity with lawyers and human rights defenders carrying out their legitimate human rights work in Tunisia. We will continue to work to reveal the crimes of the Tunisian regime against lawyers, human rights defenders and Tunisian citizens
The signatory organizations also call upon all local, regional and international organizations and the media to stand in solidarity with Tunisian citizens and to move towards putting a stop to the escalating attacks perpetrated by Tunisian security authorities.
Signatory organizations:
1. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information - Egypt 2. Nadeem Center for Psychological Therapy and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence Egypt 3. Freedom of Thought and Expression Establishment - Egypt 4. Egyptian Association against Torture - Egypt 5. Hisham Mubarak Law Center - Egypt 6. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies -Egypt 7. Egyptian Organization for Human Rights - Egypt 8. The Civil Observatory for Human Rights Association - Egypt 9. Rural Studies Center - Egypt 10. Maat Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Studies - Egypt 11. Egyptian Association for Economic and Social Rights - Egypt 12. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights - Egypt 13.Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights - Egypt 14.Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies - Egypt 15. Egyptian Association for Raising Social Participation - Egypt 16. The Land Center for Human Rights - Egypt 17. Arab Program for Human Rights Activists - Egypt 18. The Association for Human Rights Legal Aid - Egypt 19. Habi Center for Environmental Rights - Egypt 20.The South Center for Human Rights - Egypt 21. Syrian Organization for Human Rights - Syria 22.Syrian Human Rights Committee - Syria 23.Bahraini Youth Association for Human Rights - Bahrain