Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/tunisia.txt

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TITLE:  TUNISIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

                            TUNISIA


The Republic of Tunisia is dominated by President Zine
el-Abidine Ben Ali and the Constitutional Democratic Rally
(RCD).  Ben Ali was elected to a second 5-year term in March.
He ran unopposed.  The President appoints the Prime Minister,
Cabinet, and 23 Governors.  In the March election, the RCD won
144 out of the 163 seats in Parliament.  Four nominal
opposition parties hold the remaining 19 seats.  In 1992 the
Government banned the Islamist party, An-Nahda, after a court
sentenced 265 of its members to prison for allegedly plotting
to assassinate the President and overthrow the Government.

The internal security forces include a paramilitary national
guard organized within the Ministry of Interior.  The security
services continued to be responsible for human rights abuses,
including torture, though the number of known cases appears to
have declined significantly in 1994.  They were allegedly
responsible for the deaths of three persons in their custody.

The major sectors of the economy include agriculture, tourism,
petroleum, textiles, clothing, and other manufactured exports,
and remittances from workers abroad.  Despite a severe drought,
the economy continued its noninflationary growth in 1994, led
by a 17.7-percent jump in tourism.

Complaints of police abuse, including torture, declined
significantly in 1994, due in part to government efforts to
educate its police force and prosecute offending officers.  The
security forces also made fewer security-related arrests
compared to 1993.  However, significant human rights abuses
continued.  The Government imprisoned two self-proclaimed
presidential candidates, as well as an opposition candidate for
Parliament who complained to a foreign journalist about the
results of the national elections.

The Government also stifled freedom of speech and the press.
The authorities dismissed a journalist from his government job
for providing an interview with one of the unofficial
presidential candidates to a foreign publication; banned two
French newspapers indefinitely for criticizing the Government;
declined to renew the residency of a foreign correspondent,
requiring him to depart the country; denied an entry visa to
another foreign journalist to cover the elections; and
interrupted telephone service to one foreign press service for
1 week and instructed its resident correspondent to depart the
country.

The police harassed several of the 117 women who signed a
petition asking the Government to move more quickly on human
rights reforms.  Additionally, the Government continued to seek
out and arrest suspected members of An-Nahda and the banned
Communist Worker's Party (POCT) and to harass their relatives
and friends, including repeated interrogations and home
searches without warrants.  Other significant human rights
problems include:  incommunicado detention, the Government's
refusal to publish information on the punishment of security
personnel who have abused prisoners, and governmental
interference with the right to privacy.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

Three reports of deaths in custody came to light in 1994.  On
February 27, the police arrested Lotfi Ben Mohammed Guelaa, a
student in Paris and a leader in an Islamic student group,
after his arrival at Djerba airport.  In early March, Guelaa
died in his police cell.  The Government says he committed
suicide by hanging himself.  The authorities arrested Ismail
Khmira in 1991 for his suspected involvement with An-Nahda.  He
died in prison on February 25 of pneumonia according to the
Government.  The National Guard arrested Ammar Beji on November
9 after he became involved in an argument with a government
official near Sfax.  The guard said Beji hanged himself in his
police cell on November 10.  The Government has not made public
its investigations into the deaths of Guelaa, Khmira, or Beji.
A possible fourth death in custody remained unconfirmed at
year's end.  Sources reported that Ezzedine Ben Aiche allegedly
died in August near Sousse while in police custody.

In 1994 the Government concluded its investigations into five
cases of persons who died in police custody dating to
1991--Faisal Barakat, Abdelaziz Mehouachi, Ameur Degachi, Fethi
Khiari, and Rachid Chammahk.  In each case, the official
investigation concluded there was no evidence of police
malfeasance.  Investigations continue in two other deaths in
custody from 1991.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of disappearances.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

While the law prohibits the mistreatment of detainees, there
continued to be credible reports that security forces mistreat
suspected Islamists, leftists and other persons suspected of
antigovernment activities.  Many accused Islamists have claimed
in court that the police extracted their confessions by torture.

The Government denies that torture is practiced as a matter of
policy but ackowledges that security officials have abused
detainees in some cases.  According to the Government, the
courts convicted 24 police officers in 1992 for human
rights-related violations.  In 1993 the Government accused 17
police officers of human rights violations.  The Government has
not identified them by name or indicated the nature of their
offense or their punishment.

The Government has taken a number of steps in response to
concerns about human rights abuses, including training for
police, who are now required to sign a statement that they are
aware of Tunisian and international human rights standards and
will abide by them.  Manuals containing human rights documents
and directives are provided to police officers.  Government
officials claim the educational level of police recruits has
increased, and veteran officers continue to undergo training.
All judges and prosecutors receive a two-semester course on the
scope and applicability of international human rights treaties
and conventions as part of their training at the Magistrates'
Institute.  In October the Government authorized the Tunisian
Human Rights League (LTDH) to conduct prison visits.

Prison conditions meet internationally recognized minimum
standards.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The law authorizes the police to make arrests without warrants
for suspected felonies and crimes in progress and to hold
suspects in prearraignment detention for a maximum of 10 days.
Attorneys, human rights monitors, and former detainees maintain
that the authorities circumvent the 10-day limit by delaying
the registration of the date of arrest.

Detainees have the right to be informed of the grounds for
arrest before questioning and to be represented by counsel
during their arraignment hearings.  Detainees do not have the
right to a lawyer during prearraignment detention but may
request an examination by a medical doctor.  Otherwise they are
held incommunicado during this period.  The Government provides
legal representation to indigents.

The examining magistrate at the arraignment may decide to
release the accused or remand him to pretrial detention.  In
cases involving serious felonies or national security, the
accused may be held for 6 months in pretrial detention,
renewable by court order for two additional 4-month periods.
There were credible reports that some detainees have been held
in pretrial detention longer than the maximum 14 months.  There
is a system of bail, but it is rarely used.

Exile is prohibited by law and not practiced by the Government.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The court system comprises the regular civil and criminal
courts, including a Court of Appeals, a Supreme Court, and a
Military Tribunal.  The judiciary is not independent of the
executive branch.  The latter appoints, assigns, grants tenure
to, and transfers judges, a situation that makes judges
susceptible to pressure in politically sensitive cases.

In general, defendants in criminal cases receive due process.
They have the rights to be present at their trials, represented
by counsel, question witnesses, and appeal verdicts.  However,
because the presiding judge dominates the trial, the role of
the defense attorney in questioning witnesses is minimal.  In
1994 some defense lawyers complained that the courts did not
grant them sufficient time to prepare their cases.

Although trials in the regular courts are open to the public,
judges have restricted access in cases involving accused
Islamists or leftists.  Family members and other interested
parties must obtain police approval to attend such trials.  In
1994 the Government denied an entry visa to an Amnesty
International (AI) researcher who sought to observe the trial
of a prominent leftist dissident, Hamma Hamami, the leader of
the banned Tunisian Communist Workers Party.  The AI researcher
had previously written reports critical of the Government.

Hamami's trial was not fair by international standards:  his
lawyers did not have sufficient access to their client or time
to prepare their defense; the police had physically mistreated
Hamami while in pretrial detention; the court did not conduct a
complete investigation prior to going to trial; and the court
handed down a sentence that was not comensurate with his
alleged crime.

The Military Tribunal tries cases involving military personnel
and civilians accused of national security crimes.  The
Tribunal consists of a civilian judge from the Court of
Cassation and four military judges.  Defendants may appeal the
Tribunal's verdicts to the Court of Cassation, but the review
is limited to matters of law and procedure, not the facts of
the case.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The Constitution provides for the inviolability of the person
and the home and for the privacy of correspondence, "except in
exceptional cases defined by law."  Police must have a search
warrant, but this requirement is sometimes ignored in cases in
which the authorities consider that state security is involved
or in which a "flagrant crime" is deemed to have been committed.

The authorities continued to monitor the activities of
Islamists and leftists and searched their homes without
warrants.  They frequently harassed the relatives and
associates of such persons by repeatedly interrogating them.
During the year, several human rights monitors and
oppositionists accused the Government of harassment and
intimidation.  Police presence in urban areas is heavy.
Traffic officers routinely stop motorists to examine their
identity and vehicular documents.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of thought, expression,
and the press.  In practice, however, the exercise of these
freedoms is limited, as several government actions during 1994
demonstrated.  The Press Code includes broad provisions
addressing subversion and defamation, neither of which is
clearly defined or subject to judicial review.  The Government
has used these provisions for arresting political opponents and
bringing suits against the media.

In March police arrested two self-proclaimed presidential
candidates who had criticized the Government:  Moncef Marzouki
and Abderrahmane El-Hani.  The Government charged Marzouki, a
former president of the Tunisian Human Rights League, with
spreading false information and defaming judicial authorities
in an interview with a Spanish newspaper.  They detained
Marzouki for 4 months before releasing him, but his case is
still under official investigation.  The authorities charged
El-Hani, a lawyer, with membership in an unauthorized
organization and spreading false information and held him in
detention for 2 months; his trial date is pending.

Also in March, the authorities detained for 5 days Boujemaa
Remili, a defeated opposition party candidate in the
parliamentary election.  Remili had complained that the
national elections were neither free nor fair.  He was later
convicted of spreading false information and given an 8-month
suspended sentence.

In May, 117 women signed a petition asking the Government to
accelerate the pace of human rights reform.  The authorities
later harassed and intimidated several of them at work and at
home.

Restrictive laws and practices limit freedom of the press.
Journalists and writers generally censor themselves because
they fear government retribution if they publish overly
critical articles.

The Government amended the Press Code in 1993 to expand the
definition of defamation to include the expression of opinions
based on racism, regionalism, or religious extremism.
Journalists express concern about the vague language, fearing
that it gives the Government additional grounds for legal suits.

The Government exerts considerable control over editorials by
providing official texts on major domestic and international
events.  The daily newspapers routinely carry policy
announcements verbatim.  Editorials do not criticise the
President or other senior government officials.  Publishers and
editors have been reprimanded when government guidelines were
not followed, encouraging further self-censorship.

The Government requires domestic printers to deposit copies of
all publications destined for public sale in Tunisia with the
secretary of state for information and with the Ministries of
Interior and Justice prior to public release.  The authorities
may seize a publication without compensation.

The Government also showed intolerance of criticism in the
foreign media.  In February the Government refused to renew the
residence visa of a Tunis-based British Broadcasting
Corporation correspondent who had interviewed a Tunisian
dissident about his presidential aspirations and broadcast an
interview with London-based An-Nahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi
approving of the dissident's candidacy.  Also in February, the
Government temporarily interrupted telephone service to the
office of the Kuwaiti News Agency and told its correspondent to
leave Tunisia after he reported an interview with Ghannouchi.

In March the Government denied an entry visa to cover the
national elections to a reporter for the French newspaper Le
Monde.  The reporter had previously written articles deemed
offensive by the Government.  Also in March, the authorities
dismissed a Tunisian journalist from his job with the
government-controlled Tunisian News Agency (TAP).  The
journalist worked as a stringer for a French newspaper and had
submitted an interview with a Tunisian dissident to that
publication.  Later the Government prohibited indefinitely the
importation of two French publications, Le Monde and
Liberation, after they published articles critical of the
Government and the President.

The Ministry of Interior censors all imported publication prior
to public release.  In 1994 the Ministry prevented editions of
the French magazines Le Point and Jeune Afrique from
distribution onto the market and prohibited the entry of some
Amnesty International publications.

The Government owns and operates the Tunisian Radio and
Television Establishment (ERTT).  Broadcast media coverage of
the Government is taken directly from TAP.  There are two
television channels and several regional radio stations.  Under
bilateral agreements with France and Italy, citizens are able
to receive the French channel France 2 and the Italian station
Rai Uno.  However, in accordance with its agreement with
France, the Government replaces the prime-time news program on
France 2 with a news broadcast produced by the ERTT.

More than 30,000 homes and multifamily dwellings have satellite
receiving dishes.  In December the Government imposed a
temporary halt on the granting of new licenses for the dishes.

Like journalists, university professors practice a form of
self-censorship, avoiding classroom criticisms of the Goverment
or statements supportive of the Islamist An-Nahda party.  The
presence of police on campuses also discourages dissent.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly.  Groups
wishing to hold a public meeting, rally, or march must obtain a
permit from the Ministry of the Interior.  The Government
normally approves such permits, except in cases involving
proscribed political parties or associations.

In March 1992, the Government amended the Law on Associations
to prohibit an officer of a political party from serving as an
officer of an association and to prohibit associations from
rejecting prospective new members.  The amendment had a direct
impact on the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH), as some of
its officers were also officers in political parties, and the
League maintained a policy of closed membership to the general
public.  Not wishing to violate the new law, LTDH did not hold
a meeting for more than a year.

In 1993 the League negotiated a partial arrangement with the
Government, agreeing to prohibit League officers from also
holding office in a political party--but maintaining its policy
of closed membership.  That settlement permitted the League to
hold an election for its governing board in February.
Afterwards, the League conducted its normal activities,
although it and the Government continue to discuss the
membership issue.  There is no available information indicating
that the Government has applied the amendment to the Law of
Associations to other groups.  Local human rights monitors fear
that the law increases government influence over all
organizations.

The law on political parties stipulates that parties must
reject all forms of violence, including fanaticism, racism, and
other types of discrimination.  No political party may be based
on religion, race, sex, or region, or receive funds from a
foreign party or aid from foreign governments and citizens.
All party members must be citizens for at least 5 years.

There are seven legal political parties.  In addition, there
are a few unrecognized parties, including the Islamist An-Nadha
Party, which aspire to recognition, and the Maoist Tunisian
Communist Workers' Party, which remains underground.  The
Government states that An-Nahda is ineligible for recognition
because it is based on religion.

The Government uses its authority to license political parties
as a means to control the political environment.  It does not
grant legal recognition to parties deemed to be a threat to the
existing political order.  Aspiring political parties file for
registration with the Ministry of Interior.  In 1994 a new
group--the Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties--attempted
to register itself as a political party.  The Government has so
far refused to accept the application.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

Islam is the state religion, but the Government permits the
practice of other religions.  The Government regards the Baha'i
faith as a heretical sect of Islam.  Adherents may practice
their faith in private only.  However, the Government appears
to have eased some other restrictions, which in the past
included the denial of passports to Bahai's.

With a population of 2,500, Jews are the country's largest
indigenous religious minority.  The Government assures the
Jewish community the freedom of worship, safeguards its
security, and pays the salary of the Grand Rabbi.  The small
Christian community is mainly composed of foreigners.  They are
free to attend church services.

The Government views proselytizing as a provocative act against
"public order."  Authorities ask foreigners suspected of
proselytizing to depart the country and do not permit them to
return.  In 1994 no persons were known to have been arrested
for proselytizing.  However, the authorities did not renew the
residency permits of some foreigners suspected of proselytizing.

The Government controls the mosques and pays the salaries of
the prayer leaders.  According to the 1988 law on mosques, only
government-appointed personnel may lead activities in the
mosques, except with permission from the Prime Minister's
office.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within The Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

There is freedom of movement within Tunisia, and people are
free to change their place of residence or work at will.

In 1994 there were credible complaints that the Government
withheld or limited passports in certain cases.  Islamists
continued to report difficulties in obtaining passports.  The
Government stated it denies passports only to persons with
legal problems at home or abroad and to those who are not
likely to use them for tourist purposes.  However, lawyers who
have defended Islamist clients and persons associated with
leftist or opposition causes also reported that they and their
family members were unable to obtain or renew passports.

There is no arbitrary restriction on emigration or
repatriation.  The Government does not accept refugees for
permanent resettlement.  There were no reported cases in 1994
of forced repatriation.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

The ability of citizens to change their government through
democratic means has yet to be demonstrated.  The ruling
Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) Party, and its direct
predecessor parties, have controlled the political arena since
independence.  The RCD controls the Cabinet, the Chamber of
Deputies, regional and local governments, and the security
apparatus.  The President appoints the Prime Minister, the
Cabinet, and the 23 Governors.  The President and the RCD
dominate politics at the national, regional, and local levels.
The Government and the RCD are closely integrated:  The
President of the Republic is also the president of the RCD, and
the RCD's Secretary-General holds the rank of Minister of State.

The largest opposition party, the proscribed Islamist An-Nahda
Party, received 12 percent of the vote in the 1989 legislative
elections, when the Government permitted its candidates to run
as independents.  However, the party is in disarray following
the conviction in 1992 of nearly all of its leaders for
plotting to overthrow the Government.  In 1992 a court
sentenced in absentia Rachid Ghannouchi, the nominal head of
the party, to life in prison.  Ghannouchi was granted political
asylum in Britain in 1993.

The Chamber of Deputies has 163 seats.  It has yet to establish
itself as an effective counterweight to executive authority.
The electoral code provides for a winner-take-all formula in
legislative elections, but the Government amended the law in
1993 to add 19 additional seats in the Chamber of Deputies for
parties that do not win seats.  Four opposition parties that
participated in the March legislative election were apportioned
those seats.  Elections for the Presidency and the Chamber of
Deputies are held every 5 years.  Voting is by secret ballot.
All legal parties are free to present candidates.

Presidential candidates must obtain the signatures of at least
30 members of the Chamber of Deputies or presidents of
municipalities--all but one of whom were members of the ruling
RCD party in 1994.  Two persons who were not affiliated with
any political party tried to announce their candidacies for the
presidency even though they were unable to obtain the requisite
signatures.  The authorities detained both of them for several
months (see Section 2.a.).  None of the six legal opposition
parties offered a candidate for president, and all endorsed
President Ben Ali for reelection.

Women may participate in politics.  Eleven women won seats in
the March legislative election.  Nevertheless, women remain
underrepresented in government and hold few senior government
posts.  One woman holds ministerial rank, and a woman is the
second vice president of the Chamber of Deputies.  In municipal
councils, 19 percent of the member are women.  Twenty-five
percent of Tunisian magistrates are women.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

The Government recognizes several local human rights
organizations but subjects them to a variety of restrictions.
The most active is the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH).  It
resumed activities in 1993 after the Government passed
restrictive amendments to the Associations Law in 1992 (see