Amnesty International USA
Press Release
Friday, October 30, 2008
Assaults and Arrests of Three Journalists in Tunisia are Part of Pattern of Threats and Intimidation of Government Critics, Says Amnesty International
One Journalist Assaulted and Abducted Shortly After Criticizing Government in Interview with BBC
(New York) -- Amnesty International today condemned assaults in Tunisia on two independent journalists and the arrest of a third -- all known critics of President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali's government -- following last week’s elections. The human rights organization said the targeting of the journalists follows a pattern of oppressive police surveillance, threats and intimidation by security officials against both government critics and human rights activists.
Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa program, called the assaults and arrest "extremely worrying," and an indication that there is likely to be no let-up in the Tunisian government’s repression of dissent.
“The government portrays itself internationally as one committed to human rights and good governance but this, sadly, is far from the truth," said Smart. "In practice, the government is intolerant of criticism and allows its security forces and strong arm men to assault and intimidate critics with impunity.”
“It is high time that the Tunisian government put its house in order and lived up to its obligations under international human rights law,” said Smart
Slim Boukhdhir, an independent journalist who has previously been jailed for writing articles critical of the government, was stopped in the street and forced into a car last Wednesday evening by five men in plain clothes, all believed to be police or security officials.
They forced him to close his eyes, beat and insulted him as they drove away, then stopped the car, threw him out and kicked and punched him until he lost consciousness.
Before he did so, one of the assailants brandished a knife and threatened to stab him.
He was stripped of his clothes and his mobile phone, identity documents, money and house keys were taken, apparently to give the impression that he was the victim of an ordinary criminal mugging, and he was dumped in Belvédère Park in north Tunis.
A passer-by helped him to get a taxi and a friend then took him to hospital where he learnt that he had sustained a broken nose and damage to his left eye, in addition to multiple bruising to his face and chest pain.
Two hours before his abduction and assault, Boukhdhir had given an interview to the BBC in which he criticized the lack of press freedom in Tunisia.
On Thursday, another journalist and well-known government critic, Taoufik Ben Brik was arrested when he went to a police station in response to a summons he had received in connection with an alleged assault on a woman near his daughter’s school on October 22.
He appeared before an investigating judge in the absence of his lawyers and charged with “assault, breaching public morality and damage to property” according to an official statement. He is currently being detained in Mornaguia Prison and is due to stand trial on 19 November.
Before the election, he wrote several articles criticizing President Ben Ali’s government.
Later on Thursday, Lotfi Hajji, local correspondent for the Al Jazeera satellite TV channel, was subjected to a sustained verbal assault when he arrived at Tunis Carthage Airport after returning on a flight from Qatar.
His unknown assailant, who is suspected of being a member of the security forces or someone acting on their behalf, shouted and insulted him in a highly intimidating manner, accusing him of opposing the government. In his reporting for Al Jazeera, Lotfi Hajji, had criticized aspects of the recent presidential and legislative elections.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, strimel@aiusa.org
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