----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Buckley <sbuckley@gn.apc.org>
To: <plenary@wsis-cs.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 5:21 PM
Subject: [WSIS CS-Plenary] Tunisia press release (IFEX-TMG)
PRESS RELEASE - TUNISIA
26 September 2005
Freedom of expression experts question credibility of UN World Summit on
the Information Society in Tunisia
SOURCE: IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG)
**For further information on the Abbou case, see IFEX alerts of 21
September, 27 July, 13 June and 4 May 2005**
(IFEX-TMG) - The following is an IFEX-TMG press release:
Freedom of expression experts question credibility of UN World Summit on
the Information Society in Tunisia
Geneva - "Tunisia is not a suitable place to hold a United Nations World
Summit" according to the latest report of the Tunisia Monitoring Group
(TMG) released two months before the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS), scheduled to take place in Tunis, 16-18 November 2005.
The TMG released today its second report on Tunisia entitled: "Freedom of
Expression in Tunisia: The Siege Intensifies" following the latest of a
series of fact-finding missions by freedom of expression experts.
The 18-page report is an update of the TMG's first report "Tunisia: Freedom
of Expression Under Siege" published in February of this year in
preparation for the World Summit.
The report highlights serious deterioration in conditions related to
freedom of expression in Tunisia, particularly with respect to attacks on
independent organisations, harassment of journalists and dissidents, and
the independence of the judiciary. It also calls attention to the
imprisonment of the human rights lawyer, Mohamed Abbou.
Steve Buckley, Chair of the TMG, said, "The imprisonment of Mohamed Abbou
for voicing his opinion in articles on the Internet has had a chilling
effect on freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary and
appears to be directly linked to Tunisian government efforts to suppress
dissent in the run up to the WSIS."
Cumulatively the report concludes that this and many other new developments
show that the Tunisian government is seeking to stifle dissent on the eve
of the WSIS.
-ends-
For more information, please contact: Alexis Krikorian at: + 41 79 214 55
30, Fatou Jagne at: +221 569 2315. The TMG website is at:
http://campaigns.ifex.org/tmg
Note to editors:
The Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) is a coalition of 14 organisations set
up in 2004 to monitor freedom of expression in Tunisia in the run up to and
following the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). The 14
organisations are all members of the International Freedom of Expression
Exchange (IFEX), a global network of 64 national, regional and
international organizations committed to defending the right to freedom of
expression.
The third mission of the TMG was composed of representatives of Article 19,
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), International Federation of
Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), International Publishers
Association (IPA), Index on Censorship, PEN Norway, World Association of
Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) and World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC).
Other members of TMG are: Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE),
Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), International PEN Writers in
Prison Committee, Journalistes en Danger (JED), Media Institute of South
Africa (MISA), World Association of Newspapers (WAN).
Contact details:
Tunisia Monitoring Group
c/o IFEX Clearing House
489 College Street, Suite 403
Toronto, Ontario M6G 1A5 Canada
Tel: +1 416 515 9622 x 235
E-mail: mena@ifex.org
The information contained in this press release is the sole responsibility
of the IFEX-TMG.
_________________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
489 College Street, Suite 403, Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts e-mail: alerts@ifex.org general e-mail: ifex@ifex.org
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
_________________________________________________________________