Monsieur Béchir Tekkari
Ministère de la Justice et de Droits de l’Homme
31 Boulevard Bab Benat
1006 Tunis - La Kasbah
Republic of Tunisia

Fax: +216 71 568 106

26 July 2007

Dear Minister,

Re: Intimidation of Mohammed Abbou, Samia Abbou, Lassad Jouhri and Abderraouf Ayadi

We are writing on behalf of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) in connection with the imprisonment and wellbeing of lawyer and human rights campaigner, Mohammed Abbou. We are similarly concerned at reports of persistent harassment, intimidation and physical assaults against his wife, Ms Samia Abbou, as well as associates Lassad Jouhri and Abderraouf Ayadi. 

In its role as a dual membership organisation, comprising 30,000 individual lawyers and over 195 Bar Associations and Law Societies, the International Bar Association (IBA) influences the development of international law reform and shapes the future of the legal profession. Its Member Organisations cover all continents. The IBA’s Human Rights Institute works across the association, helping to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence of the judiciary and legal professional world wide.

In April 2005, Mr Abbou was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for ‘publishing information that would disrupt public order’ and ‘insulting the judiciary’. He was also convicted of the additional charge of having physically attacked a colleague. The circumstances and procedures surrounding Mr Abbou’s arrest, trial, detention, conviction and appeal suggested that some of the rights assured to all citizens of Tunisia under the Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Tunisia is a party, had not in fact been extended. As co-chairs of the IBA’s Human Rights Institute, we wrote to the President; the Tunisian Minister for Human Rights; and the Minister of Justice on 13 July 2006 urging appropriate steps to be taken to investigate and remedy such claims.

One year later, we have received no response to our letter and remain concerned that Mr Abbou continues to be denied access to medical attention and he and his family are still subject to harassment and ill treatment. It is alleged that such harassment often occurs at the instigation of the Tunisian security authorities.

Specifically, reports indicate that on 24 May, 2007, whilst being visited in prison by his wife, Mr Abbou was forcefully removed from the room immediately after Ms Abbou informed him that representatives from a joint Human Rights First and Front Line (HRFFL) mission to Tunisia had accompanied her on her trip from Tunis to Kef prison. During Ms Abbou’s subsequent visit to Mr Abbou on 31 May, prison authorities apparently threatened to forbid her from visiting her husband if she discussed human rights issues or informed him of the support he was receiving from international human rights organisations. This prison visit allegedly took place in the presence of 11 police officers who listened and took notes on the conversation.

We also understand that other incidents of intimidation appear to have been provoked by the recent HRFFL visit to Tunisia. At least four security agents are said to have been posted outside Ms Abbou's home since the HRFFL visit on 23 May, 2007, and reports indicate that her 14 year old son has been followed on various occasions. Furthermore, it has been reported that on 24 May, Mr Lassad Jouhri, a human rights activist, was arrested in front of his home by 40 plainclothes police officers and detained without charge for twelve hours. It is alleged that during this time he was badly beaten, leaving two fingers broken, and interrogated about his human rights activities. This incident immediately followed Mr Jouhri’s decision to accompany Ms Abbou and the HRFFL representative to Kef Prison. Other similar instances of intimidation have also been brought to our attention, including vandalism directed against lawyer, Abderraouf Ayadi, for his apparent association with HRFFL; and the surrounding of the offices of the National Committee for Civil Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT) by security officers. Members have allegedly been prevented from entering the CNLT building since the arrival of HRFFL in Tunisia.

If the above allegations prove correct it appears that there is a concerted effort underway to intimidate and harass Mr Abbou, his family and his associates to discourage them from vocalising criticism of the Tunisian authorities and prevent others from becoming aware of Mr Abbou's circumstances.

The actions immediately described above, together with the failure of the relevant Tunisian authorities to respond to our previous letter or actively address any of the complaints or allegations set out therein, deepen and substantiate our concerns. In our letter dated 13 July 2006, we drew your attention to the findings of a 2005 UN working group who found Mr Abbou’s arrest to be arbitrary and in violation of Article 19 of the UDHR and the ICCPR protecting the right to freedom of expression and belief. We should thus like to reiterate our concerns in this regard and remind you of your obligations under Article 5 of the Tunisian Constitution which ‘protects the free exercise of beliefs’. Furthermore, Article 8 (1) of the Constitution guarantees the liberties of opinion and expression; and Article 11 and Article 22 of the ACHPR and the ICCPR respectively guarantee freedom of association with others.

We also remain concerned that Mr Abbou may be being denied medical treatment and that his family and associates may be suffering intimidation. In this regard, we would like to remind you of Articles 7 and 10 (1) of the ICCPR and 5 and 6 of the ACHPR which state that no one should be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and that all citizens are entitled to be treated with humanity and respect. We would further like to remind you of Article 11 of the Tunisian Constitution which upholds that ‘every accused person is presumed innocent until his guilt is established in accordance with a procedure offering him guarantees indispensable for his defence’.

In addition, the Human Rights Defenders Declaration (UNHRDD) adopted by the United Nations in 1998 upholds, as a minimum, the right to seek protection at domestic and international levels; to conduct human rights work individually and in association with others, including the right to form associations and non-governmental organisations and the right to meet or assemble peacefully. They also, inter-alia, protect the right to seek and obtain information on human rights ideas and principles and to submit criticisms and proposals for human rights improvements to government bodies. Furthermore, Article 23 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, adopted by the UN in 1990, upholds that lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they shall have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights and to join or form local, national or international organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful action or their membership in a lawful organisation.

The IBAHRI calls on the Tunisian Government to investigate all the issues mentioned above and in our previous letter, relating to Tunisia’s obligations under domestic and international law. If any of the above allegations are substantiated, we call on you to take the necessary steps to ensure that appropriate action is taken and redress is provided. Finally, we request that Mr Abbou is granted immediate medical attention if this is indeed required.

We look forward to your urgent response.

Yours sincerely,

Ambassador Emilio Cárdenas   
Justice Richard Goldstone
Co Chairs of the IBA's Human Rights Institute

CC:  His Excellency Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, President;
       Rafik Haj Kacem, Ministère de lIntérieur ; 
       His Excellency Mohamed Ghannouchi, Prime Minister;
       Her Excellency Mrs Hamida M'rabet Labidi, Ambassador to London;
       Mr Ben Moussa, President, Ordre National des Avocats de Tunisie