(RSF/IFEX) – On 13 January 2002, during the broadcast of “Espace francophone”, a programme on the London-based television channel Al Mustakillah that RSF sponsors, host Jean-Michel Boissier announced that Hamma Hammami will be “coming out” of hiding with three of his friends, Abdeljabbar Madouri, Samir Taamallah and Ammar Amroussia. In the last few days, the […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 13 January 2002, during the broadcast of “Espace francophone”, a programme on the London-based television channel Al Mustakillah that RSF sponsors, host Jean-Michel Boissier announced that Hamma Hammami will be “coming out” of hiding with three of his friends, Abdeljabbar Madouri, Samir Taamallah and Ammar Amroussia. In the last few days, the surveillance of Hammami’s wife, lawyer Radhia Nasraoui, has been stepped up.
“My children want to see their father again”
“My husband, Hamma Hammami, editor of the banned newspaper Al Badil, has been living in hiding for close to four years. The police are only seeking him because he is an opponent. In August 1999, the Tunis Court of Appeal sentenced him to a nine-year and three-month prison term with no parole because of his membership in the Parti communiste des ouvriers de Tunisie [Communist Workers’ Party of Tunisia].
Aged 49, my husband has been persecuted for the last 29 years because of his opinions and political activities. Under both [former president Habib] Bourguiba and [current head of state Zine El Abidine] Ben Ali, he was arrested and tortured repeatedly, and in the most brutal fashion, and also received heavy sentences. Though he is only familiar with a few of the best beaches in Tunisia, he knows almost all the country’s prisons, including those in Tunis, Sousse, Sfax, Mahdia, Gabès, Le Kef, Bizerte and especially Nadhour, where he spent the best years of his youth.
By decision of the Ministry of the Interior, all of his published works have been removed from circulation and destroyed. Three years ago, when his mother passed away, he was unable to attend her funeral. He did not have the opportunity to see her before her death. Hamma does not know our daughter Sarah, who is now two and a half years old. Our two other daughters, Nadia, aged 18, and Oussaima, who is 13, have been denied their father’s affection. All of our family, including distant relatives, and all of our friends are under surveillance and are regularly intimidated and harassed.
I launch an appeal to all those who reject the notion that a man can be persecuted for his opinions. My husband must be allowed to come home and finally hold his children in his arms.”
Radhia Nasraoui
Lawyer with the Tunis Bar
Sign the appeal on RSF’s website (www.rsf.org) or at www.maghreb-ddh.org
A special report on Hammami and his friends Madouri, Taamallah and Amroussia can be consulted on the Maghreb des droits de l’Homme [Human Rights Maghreb] website: www.maghreb-ddh.org
