Next Sunday, 25 October 2009, Tunisia will hold presidential and legislative elections in which it is virtually guaranteed that the incumbent, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, who has been in power for the last 22 years and is now opposed by three other candidates, will be re-elected as president. As well, the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party is expected to retain a majority of the seats in the parliament.
Prison 34
Tunisie : Le gouvernement devrait mettre fin au bannissement de l’activiste Abdallah Zouari
Les autorités tunisiennes devraient mettre fin au bannissement arbitraire de l’activiste politique et journaliste Abdallah Zouari dans un village isolé, a déclaré Human Rights Watch dans une lettre envoyée aujourd’hui au ministre de la justice Béchir Tekkari et au ministre de l’intérieur Rafeek Belhaj. D’abord imposé dans le cadre d’une sanction judiciaire, l’exil de Zouari […]
Tunisia: Facebook user jailed for spreading rumors liable to disrupt public order
On Saturday, July 4, 2009, The 8th Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Tunis has condemned a Tunisian professor, Dr Khedija Arfaoui, to eight months in prison for spreading rumors, on the social networking website Facebook, liable to disrupt public order.
Iran : Omid Reza Misayafi Has Died in Prison
Our friend Hamid Tehrani has told us that Omid Reza Misayafi has died in prison in Iran. Omid was sentenced […]
Who Pays the Price? [Qui paye le prix de la propagande mensongère]
The Arabic Network documented 25 advertisements published over eight newspapers and magazines, including state-run and national, a number of parties’ newspapers and independent newspapers. These advertisements took place between 2006 and 2007 in: 1. State-run and national newspapers and magazines: Alahram, Akhbar, Aljomhoria, Rosa Alyosef 2. Independen […].
CIA facility in Tunisia ?
From his prison cell in Bizerte (65km north of Tunis), The Tunisian prisoner Ramzi Bettibi managed to smuggle a very alarming letter that found its way on to the Internet (available in French) In his letter, Ramzi describes a secret detention facility near Bizerte city, where he has been interrogated by CIA and French-speaking agents about his alleged ties […].
The Story of Lofti Lagha, Prisoner 660
Overlooked in the reports about Guantánamo detainee Abdullah bin Omar, a Tunisian who, on Sunday, was sent back to the country of his birth, where there are fears that he will be subjected to torture and abuse, is the story of the other Tunisian who, shackled and bound, shared a US plane with him. Unlike bin Omar, who was represented by lawyers who have do […].
Free Monem campaign
As the world celebrates World Press Freedom Day an Egyptian blogger, Abdel Monem Mahmoud, sits in jail, his only crime his desire for a more open Egyptian society. We cannot let the regime succeed in silencing him. We have to show the Egyptian regime that when you imprison a blogger, you don’t silence his voice, you AMPLIFY it! How? By taking action! Here’ […].
Tunisian Prison Map
The map consists of a mashup work (a technique of mixing composite applications and services exposed on the web to form a new service). This map displays: An approximate listing of Tunisian prisons indicated on a Google Maps API + GMapEZ. In order to elaborate the list, I have pulled data from Human Rights NGOs report as well as a temporary list of Tunis […].
Tunisia: Opening prisons to the world
As the technology becomes more and more accessible, the more of these kinds of sites will inevitably spring up, pulling together maps, case histories, background research documents, advocacy tools, and, yes, videos, and the simpler it becomes to try to shine a light… I’d be interested to learn of similar initiatives from around the world, so get in touch i […].
Letter to President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali on Ali Ramzi Bettibi
We are concerned also because the case against Mr. Bettibi stems from his having copied and re-posted online material in a discussion forum. As such, his prosecution sends the message to Tunisians that they risk prison if they view and exchange information from the Internet that the government deems to be extremist, even in the absence of compelling eviden […].
Tunisia : independent but not free
Tunisia celebrates the 50th anniversary of independence this month, but hopes raised by the end of French rule and early reforms have long evaporated. The country is governed and owned by General Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. But opposition groups have begun to suppress their divisions and make an attempt at collective resistance. […].
Social, Religious & Political Dimensions of Prejudice: Reflection of a Muslim (I)
Who am I? Where do I come from? In two sentences, I am a South African Muslim male from an impoverished working class background who was reared in a gang-infested area by a single parent. Many of our neighbours were Christians and the debt collectors – of which there were always many – were invariably Jewish. Who am I? Where do I come from? In two senten […].
إضراب جوع – grève de la faim – Hunger strike
وإزاء هذا الوضع قررنا نحن ممثلي الأحزاب السياسية و الهيئات المدنية الممضين أسفله الدخول في إضراب جوع مفتوح بداية من يوم الثلاثاء 18 أكتوبر 2005 Pour exprimer leur refus de l’arbitraire et exiger le respect des droits politiques et humains du peuple tunisien, les signataires de cet appel, représentants d’associations de la société civile et de partis polit […].
Tunisia: the trial of Zain El-Abedeen Ben Ali “the Arabic Pinochet ” opens the door for torture victims in the Arab World to bring their slaughterers to courts.
Gineva primary court opened a law case filed by the Tunisian Activist Abdul-Nasser Naiet Liman, the ex-prisoner against Zein Al_Abedeen Ben Ali and his ex-minister of interior, Abdullah Al-kallal on Wednesday 9th June 2005.the case opened despite Ben Ali’s being on power till now. باشرت محكمة جنيف الابتدائية نظر دعوي قضائية أقامها الناشط التونسي عبد الناص […].
Tunisia jails lawyer for Internet writings
April 29, 2005 9:21 AM TUNIS (Reuters) – A Tunisian court jailed lawyer and human rights activist Mohamed Abbou for three-and-half years for charges stemming from articles he published on the Internet, lawyers said on Friday. He went on trial on Thursday on charges of “his incitement of the population to infringe the laws”, “spreading false information […].
