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Previous Action Alerts 3/21/06
March 23, 2006
TUNISIA: Writer and attorney Mohammed Abbou on hunger strike to protest prison conditions.
See below for complete story for Sample Letter of Appeal and Full Story from International PEN in London:
Story Continued...
SAMPLE LETTER OF APPEAL
(Click Here for Sample Letter of Appeal in MS Word Format)
Président Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Président de la République
Palais Présidentiel
Tunis
Tunisie
Fax: +216 71 744 721
(“Dear President Ben Ali”
Hedi M’Henni
Ministre de l’Intérieur
Avenue Habib Bourguiba
1001 Tunis
Tunisie
Fax: +216 71 340 888
Email: mint@ministeres.tn
(“Your Excellency”
M. Bechir Takkari Ministre de la Justice
31, Av. Bab Benat
1006 Tunis La Kasbah
Tunisie
Fax: +216 71 568 106
Email: mju@ministeres.tn
(“Your Excellency”
Mohamed Nejib Hachana
Embassy of Tunisia
1515 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 2000
(“Dear Ambassador Hachana”
March 21, 2006
[Insert Salutation]
I am writing on behalf of PEN USA, part of an international organization of writers with an 85-year history of defending freedom of expression through the written word.
I am deeply concerned by reports that imprisoned writer, lawyer and human rights advocate Mohammed Abbou has been on a hunger protest since March 11 to protest his dire prison conditions.
Abbou is currently serving a three and a half year prison sentence for assault, publishing material “that would disturb public order” and “insulting the judiciary.” These last two charges stem from on article he wrote and posted on the Tunisnews website in August 2004 which compared torture committed against political prisoners in Tunisia to abuses by U.S. soldiers in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison. There are also indications that Abbou’s imprisonment is due to another article posted on Tunisnews in which he compared President Ben Ali to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
During the last few weeks, Abbou has been subjected to ongoing harassment by prison guards, as well as fellow inmates, reportedly at the behest of the guards. His family has been searched and threatened, denied adequate visitation, and then harassed during visits to the prison.
I therefore protest the harsh sentence given to Mohammed Abbou for expressing his political views as well as the inhumane conditions of his imprisonment. I strongly urge officials to grant his immediate and unconditional release. Additionally, I ask for assurances that Abbou is being treated humanely while in prison, and granted access to family visitations, lawyers and all necessary medical care.
Sincerely,
---------------------------------------------
From International PEN
21 March 2006
RAN update #2 to 09/05
Tunisia: Mohammed Abbou on hunger strike to protest prison conditions
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is deeply alarmed by the reported ill-treatment of lawyer and human rights activist Mohammed Abbou who is currently serving a three and a half year prison term in El Kef prison following the publication of an article on the internet on 28 February 2005.
According to reports received by PEN, Mohammed Abbou began a hunger strike on 11 March 2006 to protest the worsening of his prison conditions which have reportedly deteriorated since a 2 March 2006 gathering of protesters calling for his release took place outside the prison where he is being held. Abbou has been imprisoned since 1 March 2005.
Since 2 March 2006, Abbou has been subjected to various forms of harassment including attacks by prison guards who have reportedly woken him and beaten him in the middle of the night, searches and threats to tarnish the reputation of his wife and family. Authority officials have reportedly been instructed to harass Abbou’s wife, family and lawyers during weekly visits (although since 2 March Abbou’s wife has decided not to meet her husband in detention but to stage a weekly sit-in in front of the prison each Thursday on visiting day) and on 9 March Abbou’s elderly mother was only allowed to see her Mohammed Abbou for three minutes despite not having seen her son for three months. According to reports received by PEN, the prison authorities have also been inciting Abbou’s fellow prisoners to harass him.
Abbou was sentenced on 29 April 2005 to two years in prison for an incident at a 2002 conference in which the lawyer supposedly physically attacked a colleague. He was also sentenced to 18 months for “having published information that would disturb public order” and “insulting the judiciary” in an article posted on the Tunisnews website in August 2004 which compared torture committed against political prisoners in Tunisia to abuses carried out by US soldiers in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison. It is thought that Abbou’s arrest and subsequent prison sentences are in fact linked to a 28 February 2005 article posted on the Tunisnews website in which he ironically compared Tunisian President Ben Ali to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
International PEN calls for the quashing of Abbou’s sentence and for his immediate release. PEN also demands that Mohammed Abbou is not subjected to ill-treatment whilst in detention and that the Tunisian authorities make an investigation into the reported attacks on Mohammed Abbou and that those found to be responsible be brought to justice.
Please send appeals:
- Calling upon the Tunisian authorities to quash the prison sentences handed
down to Mohammed Abbou and to release him immediately and unconditionally;
- Expressing alarm at reports that Mohammed Abbou is being ill-treated in
detention and urging that an investigation be made into the reported attacks on
him by prison guards and that those responsible for carrying out such attacks be
brought to justice as a matter of urgency;
- Seeking assurances that whilst detained his basic rights are respected and that
he is granted full access to his family, lawyers and any necessary medical care.
Appeals to:
Président Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Président de la République
Palais Présidentiel
Tunis
Tunisie
Fax: +216 71 744 721
Hedi M’Henni
Ministre de l’Intérieur
Avenue Habib Bourguiba
1001 Tunis
Tunisie
Fax: +216 71 340 888
Email: mint@ministeres.tn
M. Bechir Takkari Ministre de la Justice
31, Av. Bab Benat
1006 Tunis La Kasbah
Tunisie
Fax: +216 71 568 106
Email: mju@ministeres.tn
Also send copies if possible to:
· The Tunisian representative in your country
[In the US, that person is: Mohamed Nejib Hachana
Embassy of Tunisia
1515 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 2000
(“Dear Ambassador Hachana”
· The Tunisia Desk officer at your government’s Foreign Office
· Your country official representative in Tunisia
For further details contact Sara Birch at the Writers in Prison Committee London Office: 9-10 Charterhouse Buildings, London EC1M 7AT UK Tel: + 44 (0) 20 72 53 32 26 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 72 53 57 11 e-mail: sbirch@wipcpen.org