Parliamentary questions
WRITTEN QUESTION E-0005/03
by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission
(06 January 2003)

Subject: New wave of repression in Tunisia

On 11 December 2002 Judge Mokhtar Yahiaoui, President of the CIJ (Tunisian Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary) and founding member of the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners, was the violently attacked in the street by plainclothes security agents as he was on his way to visit his lawyers, and on 14 December he was arrested by men in civilian clothes, and later released. On 13 December police officers laid siege to the offices of human rights lawyers Ms Nourredine Bhiri and Ms Saida Akremi and attacked both them and their children aged 13 and 15. Ms Akremi was taken away by the police and not released until seven hours later. Dr Tahar Mestiri, the doctor who was to examine Ms Akremi, was attacked and denied visiting rights. On the same day many other lawyers and human rights activists were the victims of violent assaults by State security agents. On 13 December security agents arrested five former political prisoners in Gafsa, including Ali Chortani, Lotfi Dassi, Mohsen Nouissi and two other as yet unidentified political prisoners from the town of Gafsa. Also, Issue 885 of 12 December of the weekly paper "Réalités" was withdrawn from sale because it contained an article on the situation in Tunisia's prisons. On 14 December the author of the article, journalist Hedi Yahmed, was questioned by the State Prosecutor. Since 12 December 2002 three State police vehicles have been laying siege to the family home of the journalist Abdullah Zouari in the village of Medenine. On 16 December Mr Mohamed Jmour, Secretary-General of the Tunisian Bar Association and human rights defender, was savagely attacked by police officers.

What information does the Commission have on this latest wave of brutal repression of pro-democracy activists in Tunisia? What is the Commission's view of the way the economic and social situation is developing in Tunisia? Does the Commission consider the Union's policies vis-à-vis Tunisia to be politically tenable?