Journalist Jaouhari Sahnoun died in a Tunis hospital on 25 January. He worked for “al-Fajr”, the pro-al-Nahda newspaper, and was a former member of the board of directors of the Tunisian League of Human Rights. Sahnoun had been arrested on 23 March 1991 and was sentenced in the mass al-Nahda military trials of 1992 to […]
Journalist Jaouhari Sahnoun died in a Tunis hospital on 25
January. He worked for “al-Fajr”, the pro-al-Nahda newspaper, and
was a former member of the board of directors of the Tunisian
League of Human Rights. Sahnoun had been arrested on 23 March
1991 and was sentenced in the mass al-Nahda military trials of
1992 to 15 years in prison. He had been charged with `attempting
to overthrow the state with violence’ in a trial which fell well
short of international standards of fairness. Human rights groups
claim he was tortured on arrest.
In early 1994, he was reported to have been transferred to Manuba
psychiatric hospital after allegedly having suffered a nervous
breakdown. He was transferred from Medea to the 9 Avril prison in
December 1994, reportedly for tests regarding his health. On 17
January 1995, he was moved to a Tunis hospital where he died on
the night of 25 January 1995. It is unclear as yet what the
reason for his death was. His family were reportedly not informed
of his death until they went to visit him. They are waiting for
the autopsy. Sahnoun was 42 years old. He had previously been
imprisoned in the early 1980s.
Four other “al-Fajr” journalists are reported to be imprisoned in
Tunisia. They include Hamadi Jebali, the newspaper’s editor, who
was sentenced to 16 years in prison on 28 August 1992 for alleged
membership of a paramilitary group. There are serious concerns
about the trial procedures against the al-Nahda suspects.
Recommended Action
Please write to the Tunisian authorities:
death
against the al-Nahda suspects; and a review of the cases against
the journalists who remain in jail
Appeals To
M. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
President of the Republic
Palais Presidentiel
Tunis, Tunisie
Fax: +216 1 744721
M. Sadok Chaabane
Ministre de la Justice
Boulevard Bab Benat
Tunis, Tunisie
Fax: +(216 1) 568 106/567 070
