EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/745

(2004/C 78 E/0793)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2553/03

by Marco Cappato (NI) to the Council

(4 August 2003)

Subject: The Tunisian journalist Abdallah Zouari

The court in the Tunisian town of Zarzis sentenced the journalist Abdallah Zouari to four months in prison on 18 July 2003. The court held that the journalist's complaint about being barred from using a cybercafe amounted to ‘defamation’ against the manageress of the cafe.

Abdallah Zouari has been constantly harassed and spied on for months. After being forbidden to go online at a cybercafe in Zarzis on 19 April, he said he would call his lawyer. The manageress then filed a complaint against him for defamation. Sentence was passed on 18 July 2003.

Zouari's conviction is only the latest example of the increasing lack of freedom of expression in Tunisia.

Two cases may be considered as typical of the situation:

— the journalist Sihem Ben Sedrine, after setting up an online publication called ‘Kalima’ because she had not obtained authorisation to publish a newspaper, was attacked by the police of President Zine el-Abidine ben Ali in an attempt to eliminate any form of dissidence on the Internet;

— Zouhair Yahyaoui, webmaster of the Tunisian site TuneZine, was arrested last year and sentenced to two years' imprisonment on 10 July 2002 for ‘spreading false information’. Yahyaoui was the first person to publish online a letter to President Ben Ali from Judge Mokhtar Yahyaoui (Zouhair Yahyaoui's uncle) criticising the complete lack of judicial independence in Tunisia.

In view of the fact that Tunisia has been chosen to host the 2005 meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), what steps will the Council take to induce the Tunisian government to give up its repressive attitude towards journalists and Internet users?

Does the Council not consider that it should use every form of political, diplomatic and economic pressure to induce the Tunisian government to relax the laws on the press and ensure the right to freedom of speech in Tunisia?

Does the Council consider it appropriate to try to ensure that the decision to hold the second meeting of the WSIS in Tunisia in 2005 is suspended until Tunisian legislation actually guarantees full enjoyment of freedom of expression?

Reply

(4 March 2004)

The Council is well informed about the cases mentioned by the Honourable Member and agrees completely with his analysis of the situation with regard to freedom of expression in Tunisia.

At the last meeting of the EU-Tunisia Association Council on 29/30 September 2003, the European Union reminded Tunisia once again that respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law are a fundamental aspect of the Association Agreement. The European Union noted on that occasion that Tunisia still had to make progress, in particular with regard to freedom of speech. It also called on Tunisia to effectively implement the commitments that it has entered into through UN international conventions.

On the basis of the May 2003 Commission communication aimed at reinvigorating EU actions on human rights and democratisation with Mediterranean partners, the European Union proposed that Tunisia enter into a dialogue on implementation of the recommendations made in that communication. Moreover, in the Decision of the Association Council setting up subcommittees of the Association Committee which was adopted at the last meeting of the Association Council, Tunisia endorsed the provision emphasising the importance attached to issues relating to democratic principles and human rights. The text of the Decision states that they will be afforded due attention in the various forums set up under the Association Agreement and, if the parties so decide, these issues may also be discussed within a subcommittee of the Association Committee or within a specific Working Party.

The European Union believes in the benefits of a continual dialogue and therefore intends to raise the issue of Tunisia's human rights commitments on a regular basis and at all levels.

With regard to the desirability of holding the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis in 2005, the Council would remind the Honourable Member that the meeting is being organised by the International Telecommunication Union under the patronage of the United Nations.