Restore Rights of Prisoners in Tunisia
- by: Helptheprisoners.org
- recipient: Tunisian Government
Since 1991, Tunisia has aggressively and purposely cracked down on any dissent or protest particularly from Islamic groups and reformers. Any act which it perceives or claims to be anti-government, including criticising the human rights of Tunisia, is defined as terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2003. It defines terrorism as :-
%u201Cacts of incitement to racial or religious hatred or fanaticism regardless of the means employed%u201D
This can of course include meetings, protests, blogs and letter-writing. In fact, many have been prosecuted under these laws. Tunisia has also pursued an aggressive ban on Muslim dress, banning the wearing of Islamic Headscarves ( Hijab) in public places.Of greatest concern however are the conditions of the prisons within Tunisia. From the time of arrest, torture is practiced and widespread. These include beating with electric cables, electrocution, beatings with clubs, suspending detainees from the ceiling, and rape / threats of rape of family members and the inmate themselves. Most disturbing is the seeming impunity to which the torturers operate in the country. In 2007 not one person was brought before the courts for practicing torture
Saifullah Ben Hassine is one individual who has suffered greatly.
A military court sentenced him to 64 years in prison, without transparent judicial process nor anything that could be constituted as evidence. Most of the %u2018evidence%u2019 was obtained through the torture of others and the rest on conjecture.
Communication is virtually impossible. Only 3 letters have been received from him to his wife and family since his incarceration. In one visit, he showed indications of being seriously assaulted. On other occasions, the prison has told his family he does not want to see them when the opposite is in fact the case. The visits when they do occur involve 2 guards and a prison officer in the room. When the conversation deviates from the mundane to that of conditions, the visits are terminated. On one occasion, he was dragged away screaming %u201Cplease help me%u201D after a 2 minute visit terminated early
Similar cases have been reported as occuring to Abdullah bin Omar and Lofti Lagha, who have had their wives threatened with rape, been subjected to extreme physical abuse and deprived of medical attention.This situation is unacceptable, and the petition calls on the Tunisian government to cease the practise of torture and the re-establishment of fair justice in the country.
We, the Undersigned, extremely concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Tunisia, which disturbs me greatly. I am also aghast that you would continue to solicit tourism to your country when you continue to treat prisoners held in your country abysmally.
I have read that since the president, Ben Ali, has been in power Tunisia has:-
- Tortured Political prisoners and those held on terrorism charges,
- Imprisoned many in solitary confinement without adequate access to natural light or clean clothing
- Threatened detainees with the rape of their family members
- Created hostile and intimidating atmosphere for family members to visit detainees
I am aware that all of the above has happened to Sayfellah Ben Hassine, Abdullah ben Omar, and Lofti Lagha, and no doubt has happened to many more held within your prisons.
In Sayfellahs case, he has been held without adequate medical attention, with communication between himself and his family severely hampered and abused by his captors.
In Abdullah ben Omars case, his family members were not even informed that he was being held until middle east news covered the story.
In Lofti Laghas case, he was told his wife and family would be raped.
This is not the way a country which allegedly values international norms and laws should behave. As such, we will not be considering Tunisia as a holiday destination this year, and will do all that we can to advise others to also avoid visiting Tunisia until these human rights violations are addressed and rectified.
We look forward to hearing how you intend to rectify the deplorable Human Rights situation in your country.
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