Tunisia: Update to TUN34940.F of 23 August 2000 as to the current situation and details of the November 1999 amnesty; those to whom it applies; whether it is still in effect and whether it was respected by the police and the security forces

On the November 1999 amnesty, Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report 2000 states that:

On November 7, following President Ben Ali's election and on the twelfth anniversary of his assumption of power, the authorities released more than 1,000 prisoners, including some 600 political prisoners, on certain conditions as part of a reported amnesty. Many of those freed were sympathizers or low-ranking adherents of al-Nahda (Renaissance), a proscribed Islamist movement, who had been imprisoned for offenses such as attending meetings of an "unauthorized" organization or making donations to the families of imprisoned members. The authorities also released five accused members of the banned Tunisian Communist Worker's Party (Parti Communiste des Ouvrier Tunisiens, PCOT)-Ali Jellouli, Nejib Baccouchi, Noureddine Benticha, Chedli Hammami, and Taha Sass-who they had sentenced in July 1999 after an unfair trial on political charges. A sixth, Fahem Boukaddous, who had been badly tortured in 1999, remained in prison until June 2000. All senior imprisoned al-Nahda members continued to be held, serving long terms under harsh conditions.

Released political prisoners faced a range of punitive measures, some court sanctioned, such as "administrative controls" requiring them to present themselves, often daily, at local police stations and others arbitrary, including restrictions on travel and having their telephone communications cut. Some were dismissed or excluded from their public-sector jobs and private sector employees were pressured not to hire them. Most were subjected to heavy and intimidating police surveillance. On August 28, Hamadi Romdhane was arrested for refusing to submit to administrative controls. A former prisoner, the authorities first told him that administrative controls on those released in accordance with the November 1999 amnesty, had been released but later that they had been reinstated. He was required to sign in on a daily basis at a police station twelve kilometers from his home. Fearing that he could not earn a living under these circumstances, he refused to comply.

A report on the status of human rights in Tunisia that was issued in March 2000 by the Conseil national pour les libertés en Tunisie (CNLT) states that although 4,000 among the thousands of former Islamist prisoners had been relieved in November 1999 from the obligation of showing up at the local police station up to four times a day, the Tunisian authorities reversed their decision and reinstated those administrative controls for many of them (15 Mar. 2000, 14).

On administrative controls on former detainees, Country Reports 2000 states that:

Human rights activists reported that security forces arbitrarily imposed administrative controls on former prisoners following their release from prison. Although the Penal Code contains provisions for the imposition of administrative controls following completion of a prison sentence, only judges have the right to order a former prisoner to register at a police station, and the law limits registration requirements to 5 years. Human rights activists allege that these requirements often are unreasonable and prevent former prisoners from being able to hold a job. Numerous Islamists released from prison in recent years have been subjected to these types of requirements. Radhia Aouididi, who served a 3-year prison sentence for possession of a fraudulent passport (having been refused a passport in 1996 because of her fiancé's membership in An-Nahda), was released from all administrative controls in August. She had been subject to a requirement to sign in daily at a police headquarters 9 miles from her village for a 5-year period following her 1999 release (see Section 2.d.). Defense attorneys reported that some clients must sign in four or five times daily, at times that are determined only the previous evening. When the clients arrive at the police station, they may be forced to wait hours before signing in, making employment impossible and child care difficult. A new court, created by a 1999 law to oversee the proper administration of sentences, began functioning in September. The law allows judges to substitute community service for jail sentences in minor cases in which the sentence would be 6 months or less. (Section 1d)

No further information on the current situation of the November 1999 amnesty could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Conseil national pour les libertés en Tunisie (CNLT). 15 March 2000. Rapport sur l'état des libertés en Tunisie. . [Accessed 1 August 2001]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000. 2001. United States Department of State.. [Accessed 1 Aug. 2001]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2001. World Report 2001. . [Accessed 31 July 2001]

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

Internet sources including:

Amnesty International

Association Hourriya-Liberté, Paris

Comité pour le respect des libertés et des droits de l'homme en Tunisie, Paris

European Country of Origin Information (ECOI) Network

Fédération Internationale des droits de l'Homme (FIDH)

Maghreb des droits de l'homme, Paris

World News Connection (WNC)