Moncef Marzouki

Brutal assault of Tunisian human rights defender

Samia Abbou, wife of eminent lawyer and human rights defender, Mohammed Abbou, was subjected to a brutal assault on 7 December. She and three other leading Tunisian human rights defenders were attacked and beaten outside El Kef prison, near Tunis, by a group of about forty men in civilian clothing.

Samia Abbou traveled to El Kef to visit her imprisoned husband with human rights defenders; Moncef Marzouki, former president of the National Committee for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT) and the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH) Salim Boukhdhir, a well known Journalist and Samir ben Amor, founding member of the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoner. According to reports, police stopped the car in which they were traveling on a number of occasions throughout the journey to El Kef and were present outside the prison at the time of the assault.  Read More

Freedom of Expression in Tunisia remain under siege

ARTICLE 19 has made a joint appeal to incoming UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to remind the Government of Tunisia of its international obligations. Freedom of expression is severely curtailed in Tunisia and writers, journalists, editors and human rights defenders face ongoing harassment.

Read more and join the appeal to end freedom of expression restrictions in Tunisia

JOINT ACTION

22nd January 2007

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN TUNISIA STILL UNDER SIEGE OVER ONE YEAR AFTER WSIS

Hosting the United Nations-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunisia, a country where repression of human rights - in particular freedom of expression - is rampant, remains controversial. Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the UN, stated that the holding of the WSIS in Tunisia offered "a good opportunity for the Government of Tunisia to address various human rights concerns, including those related to freedom of opinion and expression." More than one year after the WSIS was held in Tunisia, the Tunisian government has clearly failed to do this, according to members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG).  Read More

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