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Tunisia Page 1 of 18 Tunisia Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 6, 2007 Tunisia is a constitutionally based republic with a population of approximately 10 million, dominated by a single political party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD). Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali has been the president since 1987. In the 2004 presidential election, President Ben Ali ran against three opposition candidates and was declared the winner with approximately 94 percent of the popular vote. Official turnout was higher than 90 percent, although observers regarded these figures as substantially inflated. In concurrent parliamentary elections, the RCD gained 152 of the 189 seats. A second legislative body, the Chamber of Advisors, was created in a 2002 referendum amending the constitution. In July 2005 indirect elections for the Chamber of Advisors resulted in a heavily pro-RCD body. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces. The government continued to commit serious human rights abuses. There were significant limitations on citizens' right to change their government. Members of the security forces tortured and physically abused prisoners and detainees. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals. Authorities did not charge any police or security force official with abuse during the year. Lengthy pretrial and incommunicado detention remained a serious problem. The government infringed on citizens' privacy rights, continued to impose severe restrictions on freedom of speech and of the press, and restricted freedom of assembly and association. The government remained intolerant of public criticism and used intimidation, criminal investigations, the court system, arbitrary arrests, residential restrictions, and travel controls (including denial of passports), to discourage criticism by human rights and opposition activists. Corruption was a problem. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From: a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life The government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however, on March 11, according to the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), Bechir Rahali, chief of police of Cité Ennour, El Ouradia IV, Tunis, killed 24-year-old Tarek Ayari. According to an OMCT communiqué, following a police raid, Ayari fled on foot and a police vehicle pursued him. Rahali reportedly exited the vehicle and hit Ayari on the head with the handle of a pickaxe. Ayari reportedly collapsed and was left on the scene without assistance. According to information collected by OMCT, Ayari's brother subsequently drove him to the hospital where sources say he had injuries on his shoulder, knee, hand, and foot in addition to a head injury. Ayari died on March 11, and he was buried on March 13, reportedly under heavy police surveillance. OMCT and the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) called for an independent inquiry into the death of Ayari and restitution for the family; however, there were no further developments by year's end. There were no developments in the case of Moncef Ben Ahmed Ouahichi, a Jendouba resident, who died in June 2005 of a cerebral hemorrhage at La Rabta Hospital in Tunis following his arrest and detention at police facilities in Jendouba. Human rights organizations alleged that Ouahichi died as a result of being beaten in custody by security officials. b. Disappearance There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances. c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The law prohibits such practices; however, according to human rights organizations, security forces tortured detainees to elicit confessions and discourage resistance. The forms of torture and other abuse included: sleep deprivation; electric shock; submersion of the head in water; beatings with hands, sticks, and police batons; suspension, sometimes manacled, from cell doors and rods resulting in loss of consciousness; and cigarette burns. According to Amnesty International (AI), police and prison officials used sexual assault and threats of sexual assault against the wives of Islamist prisoners to extract information, intimidate, and punish. Charges of torture in specific cases were difficult to prove. Authorities often allegedly denied victims of torture access to medical care until evidence of abuse disappeared. The government maintained that it investigated all complaints of torture and mistreatment filed with the Tunisia Page 2 of 18 prosecutor's office and noted that alleged victims sometimes accused police of torture without filing a complaint, which is a prerequisite for an investigation. According to defense attorneys and local and international human rights groups, police routinely refused to register complaints of torture. In addition, judges dismissed complaints without investigation and accepted as evidence confessions allegedly extracted through torture. The government has the ability to open an administrative investigation of allegations of torture or mistreatment of prisoners without a formal complaint; however, in those cases the results have not been made public or available to the lawyers of affected prisoners. Consistent with an effort to extract information or coerce confessions, reports of torture were more frequently associated with the initial phases of interrogation/investigation and pretrial detention centers more than prisons. Human rights activists, citing prisoner accounts, identified facilities at the Ministry of Interior as the most common location for torture. Political prisoners, Islamists, and persons detained on terrorism-related charges allegedly received harsher treatment than other prisoners and detainees. Several domestic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT) and the Association for the Fight Against Torture in Tunisia (ALTT), reported multiple torture cases throughout the year. On June 1, the LTDH Section in Bizerte reported that on May 4, Aymen Ben Belgacem Dridi, detained on terrorism-related charges, was reportedly beaten, kicked, and subjected to falka (beatings on the soles of the feet) in the Borj er-Roumi prison. Dridi's lawyer reportedly registered a complaint of torture and other crimes and requested an inquiry. According to the LTDH communiqué, on May 17, the request was registered at a Bizerte court, and on May 20, a government prosecutor conducted an interview of Dridi. Security forces allegedly assaulted Dridi again. There were no further developments in the inquiry at year's end. There were no further developments in the case of Zied Ghodhbane, who reportedly appeared in court in June 2005 in a state of physical and psychological distress, showing marks of abuse. He reportedly testified that after his extradition from Algeria, officials at the Ministry of Interior tortured him by beatings, electrocution, and holding his head under water. Defense lawyers for the accused requested that the judge recommend a medical examination, but the judge reportedly ruled that such a request should come from the general prosecutor. There were no further developments in the case of the "Bizerte Group," 11 defendants arrested in 2004 and charged with various terrorism- related crimes, who were sentenced in 2005 to prison terms ranging from 10 to 30 years. In July 2005 the court acquitted five of the defendants, while the remaining six received sentence reductions. The Committee of the Defense of Victims of the Law on Terrorism released multiple communiqués in 2005 charging that authorities used torture to obtain confessions from the group. Police assaulted human rights and opposition activists throughout the year. On March 11, according to the LTDH, police agents beat former political prisoner Abdeljabbar Maddouri, who reportedly lost consciousness and was hospitalized due to the attack. On May 11, according to multiple witnesses and human rights groups, police assaulted lawyers staging a three-week sit-in to protest a new law that created a training institute for lawyers (see section 1.e.). Police allegedly attacked several lawyers over the course of the three-week sit-in, including Ayachi Hammami, Raouf Ayadi, and Abderrazak Kilani, all of whom were hospitalized, according to a communiqué released by CNLT. There were no further developments on reports that three individuals, allegedly members of the security forces, assaulted journalist Sihem Ben Sedrine in 2004 (see section 2.a.), or on reports in 2004 of an assault on former political prisoner Hamma Hammami, whose political party urged the boycott of the 2004 presidential elections. In 2004 the president ordered the Higher Commission on Human Rights and Basic Freedoms (a state-appointed body) to conduct an inquiry into the case of Nabil El Ouaer, whom a military tribunal had sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1992. In 2004 the senior official of Borj er- Roumi Prison allegedly beat Ouaer and placed him in solitary confinement. While in solitary confinement, four other prisoners allegedly raped him. Based on its timing and location, human rights activists believed prison officials sanctioned the incident. Authorities did not publish the commission's findings, if any, by year's end. Authorities did not charge any police or security force official with abuse during the year. Prison and Detention Center Conditions Prison conditions ranged from spartan