BRIEF: HRW Sends Letter to Tunisian President to Stop Harassment of Rights Group

TUNIS, Tunisia – Human Rights Watch (HRW) sent a letter on Tuesday to Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to stop state authorities from harassing “unrecognized” rights group.

The “unrecognized” group refers to Tunis-based International Association in Support of Political Prisoners (AISPP). In early December, attorney Samir Ben Amor – AISPP co-founder and steering committee member – was detained by police for his activities within the group. Under Tunisian law, those who are involved in “unrecognized” associations are penalized with prison terms and fines. And AISPP, under Tunisian law definition, is “unrecognized” because the Tunisian authorities have refused to legally recognize the group since its inception five years ago.

Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa director Sarah Leah Whitson said that the Tunisian authorities deny having political prisoners in the country, and that jailing of Ben Amor “only underscores the fact that the authorities harass Tunisians who point out that the government holds political prisoners.”

Ben Amor is currently defending thirty Islamists charged with trying to overthrow the government.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – Tunisia court postpones coup bid trail to Dec. 29 – 22 December 2007

Magharebia – HRW protests harassment of rights groups in Tunisia – 19 December 2007

Human Rights Watch – Stop harassing ‘unrecognized’ rights group – 18 December 2007

Author: Impunity Watch Archive