LTDH 5

Prisons in Tunisia: Heat Wave, A Double Sentence

Living within a few square meters, sharing a bed (when the opportunity presents itself), drinking, eating, and sleeping all in the same claustrophobic space, with no view other than the surrounding concrete walls. As Tunisia staggers through crippling heat, thousands of prisoners are serving a double sentence: prison time and the indecent conditions of their detention. Several suspicious deaths within the span of a few days reflect a reality in Tunisian prisons that the government has failed to come to terms with.

Politics aside, civil society pushes for an end to violence against women 

In anticipation of International Women’s Day on March 8, Tunisian civil society organizations are campaigning for the expedient adoption of legislation concerning the elimination of violence against women. The Tunisian Association of Women Democrats (ATFD), the Tunisian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LTDH), and other non-governmental associations who are the first recourse for women victims of violence, are pushing for the adoption of a pending draft law, even while one of their primary critiques regarding the text is its failure to recognize the essential role played by non-governmental actors.

More than security, human rights are threatened in Tunisia

In seamless consistency with the government’s response to the Bardo and Sousse attacks in March and June, official discourse, superficial security measures, and the actions of security forces since last Tuesday’s tragedy reflect the absence of a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy and have kept alive the notion that effective security requires the relinquishing of certain rights and liberties.

Deterioration of rights situation in Tunisia

Tunisia is currently in the limelight of freedom of expression and other human rights groups as the country controversially is to organise the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) on 15-18 November. The decision to hold the summit in Tunis has been termed scandalous since Tunisian authorities prohibit any free circulation of information. […].