(HRinfo/IFEX) – The following is a 24 July 2006 statement by WGFENA, of which HRinfo is a member: Tunisia: A Human Rights Organization Besieged; A Human Rights Activist and Writer Is Beaten and Threatened With Sexual Assault A statement issued by: The Working Group on Press Freedom and Free Expression in North Africa (WGFENA) The […]
(HRinfo/IFEX) – The following is a 24 July 2006 statement by WGFENA, of which HRinfo is a member:
Tunisia: A Human Rights Organization Besieged; A Human Rights Activist and Writer Is Beaten and Threatened With Sexual Assault
A statement issued by: The Working Group on Press Freedom and Free Expression in North Africa (WGFENA)
The Working Group on Press Freedom and Free Expression in North Africa (WGFENA) condemned today the assault perpetrated by Tunisian security forces against the prominent writer and human rights activist, Naziha Regiba (also known as “Um Ziad”). The attack came after security forces besieged The National Council for Liberties in Tunisia [Conseil National pour les Libertés en Tunisie, CNLT] to prevent its members from attending a meeting.
On Friday morning, 21 July 2006, Um Ziad, the prominent writer and editor of “Tunisian Word” (“Kilmat Tunis”) magazine, went to the National Council for Liberties headquarters to attend a meeting. As she approached the office, she was physically and verbally assaulted by Tunisian security forces, who then forced her to get into a taxi and said to the driver, “take her wherever you want and do what you want with her; she is a . . . ” (describing her with obscene words). Afterwards, security forces surrounded her residence for the whole day.
It is surprising that this incident should occur around the same time as Tunisians celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Personal and Family Law, which is considered to be the best in the Arab world, as if to highlight the fact that state practices are in total contradiction of legislation.
WGFENA believes that this blatant assault on the writer and human rights activist Um Ziad is a continuation of police assaults and violations practiced by the Tunisian government against those who dare to criticize the deteriorating situation of human rights in the country, a situation due to the government’s aggressive denial of its people’s rights and freedoms.
The National Council for Liberties in Tunisia is a human rights organization founded in 1998. Its objectives are to support judicial independence, defend freedom of expression and ensure the right to free elections. The Tunisian government systematically harasses and assaults its members and founders due to their criticism of Tunisian governmental and police practices.
Naziha Regiba – who is also known as “Um Ziad” – is a member of the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia and the editor of ” Kilmat Tunis”, an electronic magazine. The website of “Kilmat Tunis” magazine is blocked in Tunisia. Um Ziad is also a member of the advisory board of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo). Um Ziad has regularly been the target of governmental harassment, the most recent example of which was the government’s fabrication of a sexual scandal concerning her husband, Mokhtar Al-Galali, a former Member of Parliament, a few months ago. Their aim is to punish her for being outspoken against police practices against Tunisian citizens and for defending the principles of human rights and freedom of expression.
