(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 19 June 2002 letter to Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, CPJ protested the arrest and prosecution of Zouhair Yahyaoui, an Internet café employee and editor of the online publication “Tunezine”. On the evening of 4 June, plainclothes state agents detained Yahyaoui at an Internet café in the capital, Tunis. Authorities […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 19 June 2002 letter to Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, CPJ protested
the arrest and prosecution of Zouhair Yahyaoui, an Internet café employee and editor of the online publication “Tunezine”.
On the evening of 4 June, plainclothes state agents detained Yahyaoui at an Internet café in the capital, Tunis. Authorities then searched Yahyaoui’s home and confiscated disks and other computer materials.
After spending several days in detention, Yahyaoui was charged in court on 13 June with intentionally publishing false information-a violation of Article 306 of the Penal Code.
The charge, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, comes in response to a number of articles posted on “Tunezine”, including a recent piece that criticized the 26 May constitutional referendum in which 99.52 percent of voters approved constitutional changes to allow the president to run for a fourth term.
Yahyaoui was also charged with using stolen communication lines to post his Web site, a violation of section 84 of the Telecommunications Code. This crime carries a maximum sentence of five years.
Yahyaoui’s lawyer believes that this additional charge is a direct attempt to add to his client’s potential prison sentence and to silence the Web site.
Since Yahyaoui established “Tunezine” in July 2001 using a pseudonym, the Web site has frequently run articles and commentary-including the views of leading Tunisian dissidents-that are highly critical of the Tunisian government.
Tunisian authorities have blocked the Web site to users inside Tunisia, but “Tunezine” has often circumvented these barriers by establishing alternate addresses.
Yahyaoui’s case is adjourned until 20 June.
CPJ believes that the arrest and criminal prosecution of journalists for publishing unflattering news about the government is a clear violation of the internationally recognized right to free expression.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– urging him to do everything within his power to ensure that Yahyaoui is freed immediately and that the charges against him are dropped
– asking that he use his position as president of Tunisia to provide guarantees that enable Yahyaoui and other Tunisian journalists to practice their professional work freely, without official interference
Appeals To
His Excellency Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali
President of the Republic of Tunisia
Presidential Palace
Carthage, Tunisia
Fax: +216 71 744 721
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
