Tunisia: CPJ protests prosecution of online editor

> IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
> _________________________________________________________________
>
> ACTION ALERT UPDATE - TUNISIA
>
> 20 June 2002
>
> CPJ protests arrest and prosecution of online editor Zouhair Yahyaoui
>
> SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
>
> **Updates IFEX alert of 6 June 2002**
>
> (CPJ/IFEX) - In a 19 June 2002 letter to Tunisian President Zine
al-Abidine Ben
> Ali, CPJ protested
> the arrest and prosecution of Zouhair Yahyaoui, an Internet café employee
and
> editor of the online publication "Tunezine".
>
> On the evening of 4 June, plainclothes state agents detained Yahyaoui at
an
> Internet café in the capital, Tunis. Authorities then searched Yahyaoui's
home
> and confiscated disks and other computer materials.
>
> After spending several days in detention, Yahyaoui was charged in court on
13
> June with intentionally publishing false information-a violation of
Article 306
> of the Penal Code.
>
> The charge, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison,
comes in
> response to a number of articles posted on "Tunezine", including a recent
piece
> that criticized the 26 May constitutional referendum in which 99.52
percent of
> voters approved constitutional changes to allow the president to run for a
> fourth term.
>
> Yahyaoui was also charged with using stolen communication lines to post
his Web
> site, a violation of section 84 of the Telecommunications Code. This crime
> carries a maximum sentence of five years.
>
> Yahyaoui's lawyer believes that this additional charge is a direct attempt
to
> add to his client's potential prison sentence and to silence the Web site.
>
> Since Yahyaoui established "Tunezine" in July 2001 using a pseudonym, the
Web
> site has frequently run articles and commentary-including the views of
leading
> Tunisian dissidents-that are highly critical of the Tunisian government.
>
> Tunisian authorities have blocked the Web site to users inside Tunisia,
but
> "Tunezine" has often circumvented these barriers by establishing alternate
> addresses.
>
> Yahyaoui's case is adjourned until 20 June.
>
> CPJ believes that the arrest and criminal prosecution of journalists for
> publishing unflattering news about the government is a clear violation of
the
> internationally recognized right to free expression.
>
> RECOMMENDED ACTION:
>
> Send appeals to the president:
> - urging him to do everything within his power to ensure that Yahyaoui is
freed
> immediately and that the charges against him are dropped
> - asking that he use his position as president of Tunisia to provide
guarantees
> that enable Yahyaoui and other Tunisian journalists to practice their
> professional work freely, without official
> interference
>
> APPEALS TO:
>
> His Excellency Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali
> President of the Republic of Tunisia
> Presidential Palace
> Carthage, Tunisia
> Fax: +216 71 744 721
>
> Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
>
> For further information, contact Joel Campagna (x 103) or Hani Sabra (x
104) at
> CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004,
fax: +1
> 212 465 9568, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected];
> Internet: http://www.cpj.org/
>
> The information contained in this action alert update is the sole
responsibility
> of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please
credit CPJ.
> _________________________________________________________________
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