Two better-known individuals who had formerly been imprisoned on spurious criminal charges were opposition politician Mohamed Mouada and lawyer Nejib Hosni. Hosni, who had been outspoken at home and abroad on Tunisia's human rights abuses, was deprived of his passport and telephone, and forbidden to resume his law practice. The pressure on Mouada intensified after he traveled in late 1997 to Europe and met with European parliamentarians and human rights organizations. Upon his return, prosecutors questioned him about his contacts abroad and investigated him on subversion charges. He was placed under a de facto partial house arrest, prevented from meeting people freely, and barred from leaving the greater Tunis area.
Tunisian law permits the prosecution of citizens for their conduct outside the country.
This is the case even when their alleged actions are legal in the country in which they take place and protected under international human rights law to which Tunisia is a party. Scores of students returning home from Europe for visits have been arrested and interrogated about their contacts and meetings with Tunisians abroad. Many of these were convicted and jailed for exercising their rights to free speech and association. In 1997, the government announced a bill that would put under judicial authority all decisions regarding the issuance of passports and the imposition of travel restrictions. In an October 12 statement, the Tunisian Human Rights League and four other Tunisian organizations urged withdrawal of the draft bill.