WRITTEN QUESTION E-2526/02

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(11 September 2002)

Subject: Hunger strike by more than 700 prisoners in Tunisia

More than 700 prisoners of conscience in prisons at Sfax, Mahdia, Kairouan (El-Houareb) and Bizerte (Bourj-Eroumi) launched a hunger strike on 26 August 2002. They are demanding that the Tunisian authorities proclaim a general amnesty and that they put an end to the suffering including torture and degrading treatment which they have been inflicting on political prisoners and prisoners of conscience for over 12 years. According to information gathered by the OMCT (World Organisation against Torture) the prisoners of conscience given the longest sentences and suffering the worst conditions of imprisonment in Tunisia are those prisoners who were tried during the great trials of 1992 carried out against the Islamist party, Ennhada. Numerous prisoners have died, either under torture or for lack of care; the last of these, Abdewahab Bou Saa, died in March 2002.

Is the Commission aware of this hunger strike protest in which more than 700 Tunisian prisoners are taking part? Has the Commission carried out an in-depth study of the circumstances under which these individuals were tried and sentenced and of their conditions of imprisonment? What initiatives has the Commission taken or does it intend to take to persuade the Tunisian authorities to proclaim a general amnesty for those who stood trial in the early 1990s and, in more general terms, for all those imprisoned for their opinions or their peaceful political activities?

Joint answerto Written Questions E-2526/02, E-2597/02 and E-2629/02given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(8 October 2002)

The Commission is aware of the general problem concerning the conditions in which prisoners are kept in Tunisia, and of the particular cases referred to in the question.

No expert opinions or studies specifically concerned with conditions of imprisonment are currently available to the Commission. Not even the International Committee of the Red Cross has access to Tunisian prisons. The Commission regrets this lack of impartial information, which is an additional cause for concern regarding the mass hunger strike.

As the Commission has already indicated in its reply to questions E-1845/02 from Mr Cappato and P-2065/02 from Mr Dupuis(1), it is concerned about Mr Yahyaoui's case, and particularly about the conditions in which he is being held in the Bordj El-Amri prison, as described by other prisoners and visitors.

The Commission regularly draws the Tunisian authorities' attention to the need to respect freedom of expression as an inalienable right and to allow civil society to play more than a token role in public life. With these concerns in mind, the Commission has doubts concerning the re-arrest of Mr Abdallah Zouari and the legitimacy of the administrative measure behind it.

The chief consequence of suspending the Association Agreement, quite apart from the fact that it would take a unanimous decision by the Council, would be to deprive the EU of regular political dialogue with Tunisia and compromise cooperation between Tunisia and the EU, with its beneficial effect on the development of Tunisian society as a whole.

With the goal of exerting a positive influence on Tunisian justice, the Commission is now drafting a judicial modernisation programme. This could include a section on prison reform. In more general terms, it will seek to create a momentum for modernisation amongst the people and authorities responsible for the justice system.

(1) OJ C 52 E, 6.3.2003, p. 107.