20 July 2010
International PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) strongly protests the imprisonment of Fahem Boukaddous, correspondent for Al-Badeel news website and TV journalist, whose four-year prison sentence for his reports on social protests was confirmed on appeal on 6 July 2010. Boukaddous was unable to attend the appeal hearing due to acute respiratory problems which required hospitalization and his lawyers were reportedly denied the right to present any defence. He was jailed on 15 July, the day after he was discharged from hospital, and remains in urgent need of medical treatment. The WiPC calls on the Tunisian authorities to release Boukaddous immediately and unconditionally and to ensure that he receives the medical care he requires.
The following is a statement issued by the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG), of which the WiPC is part:
(IFEX-TMG) - 16 July 2010 - The International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 20 IFEX members, strongly condemns the arrest of journalist Fahem Boukaddous, who is in poor health, and calls on Tunisia's partners to speak out to help save his life.
On 15 July, the day after his release from hospital, Boukaddous - who has been suffering from acute respiratory problems - was arrested and taken to Gafsa prison, hundreds of kilometres southwest of Tunis, without his much-needed medicine. The prison is filthy, very hot in summer and many prisoners smoke, journalists and lawyers told TMG.
He was arrested when he returned to Farhat Hached Hospital in Sousse in the company of his wife, Afef Ben Nasser.
Radhia Nasraoui, one of Boukaddous' lawyers, warned last week against the "dangerous consequences" of denying Boukaddous the "vital medical care he needs." She added that several political prisoners have died from a "lack of medical care" over the past years.
The arrest comes after the 6 July verdict by an appeals court confirming the four-year prison sentence handed down earlier this year to Boukaddous on charges stemming from his coverage of demonstrations in Gafsa in 2008.
The charges brought against Boukaddous, which include "belonging to a criminal association" and "harming public order", appear to be yet another political manoeuvre aiming to silence criticism of Tunisian authorities.
IFEX-TMG members appeal to Tunisia's friends and partners in the EU and around the world to speak out against the arrest and life-threatening imprisonment of Boukaddous, and urge the Tunisian authorities to put an end to the shameful use of the judiciary to stifle free expression and punish critical journalists.
IFEX-TMG members further call upon the Tunisian government to respect its human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which it has ratified.
"The arrest of an ailing journalist is yet another blow to free expression and human rights in Tunisia. The time has come for this country's genuine friends and close partners to help protect Boukaddous' life and end the unrelenting war on basic freedoms," says IFEX-TMG Chair Rohan Jayasekera of Index on Censorship.
Boukaddous, a journalist with Al-Hiwar Al-Tunisi satellite television station, went into hiding in July 2008 after discovering that he was wanted by the Tunisian authorities. He was sentenced to six years in prison in December 2008.
In November 2009, Boukaddous emerged to challenge the sentence on the basis that he had been tried in absentia. A court overturned the previous ruling, but said that Boukaddous would again be tried on the same charges. In January of this year, the journalist was found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison, which his lawyers appealed, without avail.
The IFEX-TMG's latest report, based on a fact-finding mission to Tunisia, shed light on the alarming use of the judiciary to undermine basic human rights and the country's declining freedom of expression record. http://www.ifex.org/tunisia/2010/06/07/tmg_report/
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Cartoonists Rights Network International
Egyptian Organization for Human Rights
Index on Censorship
International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
International PEN Writers in Prison Committee
International Press Institute
International Publishers Association
Journaliste en danger
Maharat Foundation (Skills Foundation)
Media Institute of Southern Africa
Norwegian PEN
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
World Press Freedom Committee
http://www.ifex.org/tunisia/2010/07/16/free_boukaddous/
For the French version, click here: Le TMG de l'IFEX en appelle aux partenaires de la Tunisie pour sauver la vie d'un journaliste malade en prison
Useful links:
Alert by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) (15 July 2010): http://cpj.org/2010/07/cpj-calls-for-immediate-release-of-tunisian-journa.php
New report by Amnesty International ‘Independent Voices Stifled in Tunisia’ (13 July 2010): http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE30/008/2010/en
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Please send appeals (preferably in French) to the Tunisian authorities:
· Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Fahem Boukaddous on humanitarian grounds and in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights;
· Seeking reassurances that Boukaddous will receive the medical care he urgently requires;
· Calling for an end to the use of the Tunisian judiciary to stifle free expression and punish critical journalists.
APPEALS TO:
President
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
President
Palais Présidentiel
Tunis, Tunisia
Fax: +216 71 744 721
Minister of Justice and Human Rights
Lazhar Bououni
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights
31 Boulevard Bab Benat
1006 Tunis - La Kasbah
Tunisia
Fax: +216 71 568 106
Email: mju@ministeres.tn
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Directeur général des prisons
Rue 8003, Appartement –L-
Espace de Tunis Monplaisir
Tunisia
Fax: +216 71 904 472
The Tunisian Embassy in your country, see http://www.tunisia.com/tunisia/travel/tunisian-embassies
**Please contact this office if sending appeals after 19 September 2010**
For further information please contact Tamsin Mitchell at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: tamsin.mitchell@internationalpen.org.uk
Letter template:
Votre Excellence
Je suis une éditeur indépendante et j’habite en Nouvelle-Zélande.. Je vous écris au sujet du journaliste Fahem Boukadous, qui est très malade. Radhia Nasraoui, l'une de ses avocats, a lancé une mise en garde la semaine passée contre "les conséquences dangereuses" du refus de procurer à Boukaddous "les soins médicaux vitaux qu'il requiert." Elle a ajouté que plusieurs prisonniers politiques sont décédés par "manque de soins médicaux" dans les années précédentes.
Par conséquent je t'écris pour demander qu'il soit immédiatement donné le soin médical pressant et libéré de la prison. Aussi, je demande le gouvernement tunisien à respecter ses obligations au chapitre des droits de la personne en vertu du Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques et de la Charte africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples, qu'il a "ratifiés."
Veuillez agreer l’expression de mes sentiments les plus distingués,
