International freedom of expression organizations today expressed grave concern about the poor state of freedom of expression in Tunisia, host country for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) which is to be held in Tunis, November 2005. A 60-page report on the state of freedom of expression in Tunisia and the conditions for participation in the WSIS to be held in Tunis, November 2005 has been published today by the International Freedom of expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group, a group of 13 national, regional and international freedom of expression organizations. The report, released to coincide with the second Preparatory Committee for the WSIS, in Geneva 17-25 February, sets out the findings of a mission to Tunisia of freedom of expression groups. It makes a series of recommendations to the Tunisian government to bring the country in line with international human rights standards.

Tunisian authorities should stop harassing journalist and former political prisoner Abdallah Zouari, and end his banishment in the remote south of the country, Human Rights Watch said. Since Zouari completed an 11-year prison sentence in 2002, authorities have sought to silence and punish him because of his outspoken criticism of government policies, notably on human rights. Zouari has been confined to a rural district in Medenine province, 500 kilometers from his family's home in suburban Tunis, jailed three times, placed under round-the-clock police surveillance and intermittently prevented from using local Internet cafés to communicate with others. Zouari has been on a hunger strike since January 23 to protest the rejection of his numerous written requests to authorities for permission to visit his family.

A joint monitoring visit to Tunisia undertaken by members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) has found serious cause for continuing concern about the current state of freedom of expression and of civil liberties in Tunisia, including gross restrictions on freedom of the press, media, publishing and the Internet. The visit, which took place from 14 to 19 January 2005, was the first of the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group and was organised in preparation for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), a United Nations intergovernmental conference to be held in Tunis in November 2005. The purpose of the visit was to evaluate the state of freedom of expression in Tunisia and to assess the conditions for participation in the Summit.

In common with Algeria and the dominant African giant Egypt, Tunisia has displayed a remarkable tenacity to forge ahead without any significant policy of political reform. In ensuring that its security from so-called 'terrorist threats' is provided by the West, the regime of Zeyn al-Abideen Bin Ali has thwarted efforts by human-rights activists keen to secure fundamental freedoms. Harsh repressive measures to keep its population in check are characteristic of the Bin Ali government.

Tunisian authorities are blocking local access to the website of the main human rights organisation in the country as well as to many other websites that focus on human rights and politics in Tunisia. The official and quasi-official media observe a complete blackout on the organization's activities and statements. Tunis is scheduled to host the U.N.-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), billed as a global discussion of the impact of the digital revolution and how best to bridge the "digital divide" between rich and poor.

The decision by Tunisian authorities to protect 15 wetland sites has been welcomed by environmentalist groups. The wetlands to be protected total over 750,000 hectares and vary in landscape. These landscapes include salt lakes, swamps, peat bogs, dunes, karstic caves, oases, and lagoons, and are home to some 85 aquatic plant species.

"The Nigerian government cannot protect all the oil pipelines in the Niger delta. If somebody says that they can protect all the pipelines that criss-cross the Niger delta, the person is a liar or maybe he does not know...the area," says Alhaji Mujahid Dokubu-Asari, leader of the rebel Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force. At the beginning of October, Dokubu-Asari reached a tentative agreement with government to disarm. However, the situation in the delta remains volatile, and could easily descend into renewed violence.

In order to take advantage of new ICTs that have been developed to combat poverty and achieve sustainable development in Africa, women in Africa need to actively participate in ICT initiatives. The Conference on Women and ICT is to be held at the Arusha International Conference Centre, Arusha, Tanzania on 18-20 October 2004 to draw a roadmap for the caucus that will enable effective participation at WSIS-Tunis 2005.

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has protested heavy sentences upheld on appeal against six Internet users in the southern city of Zarzis. The six were accused of using the Internet to plot terrorist attacks. Their 19-years-and-three-month sentences were reduced on appeal to 13 years' imprisonment. The convictions were based entirely on confessions extracted under duress and not supported by any real evidence, according to RSF, which expects a higher court of appeal to overturn the sentences.

A Tunis court has sentenced eight Internet users from the southern city of Zarzis to up to 26 years in prison. The convicted Internet users were accused of promoting terrorist attacks on the sole basis of files they downloaded from the Internet. Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has voiced shock and outrage over the sentences and called for the Internet users' release when their appeal is heard. "The trial of these young people demonstrates the Tunisian judicial system's outrageous contempt for the rights of the defence. Simply consulting Internet sites cannot be considered evidence of a terrorist plot. The Tunisian regime is trying to terrorise Internet users and silence dissent," the organisation said.

Two-day preliminary discussions on the process, content and themes of the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to be held in Tunis, Tunisia from 16 to 18 November 2005, are due to start in the Tunisian capital. The informal meeting is organized by the Government of Tunisia and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in anticipation of the preparatory meeting agreed upon in Geneva on 12 December 2003 by the Heads of State and Government.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says it is concerned about the health of Abdallah Zouari, a journalist from the suspended Islamist weekly "Al-Fajr" who has been carrying on a hunger strike since 27 January 2004 to protest the worsening of his prison conditions. On their last visit, his family, who had not been allowed to see him for two weeks, found him to be in a seriously weakened physical and mental state.

"This week, President Bush played host to President Zine el-Abidine ben Ali of Tunisia, giving this ruthless autocrat a long-coveted audience at the White House," writes exiled Tunisian journalist Kamel Labidi in the New York Times. "To his credit, Mr. Bush rebuked Mr. ben Ali for his violations of press freedom, but the United States is sorely mistaken if it believes that democracy and the rule of law can ever take hold under leaders like Mr. ben Ali ... Tunisia today is one of the world's most efficient police states." Before the presidential meeting on February 18, human rights groups and other Tunisian exiles also called for the U.S. to match rhetorical commitment to democracy with real pressure on Tunisia. But official statements following the meeting praised Tunisia's commitment to reform and stressed continuation of the close ties between the two countries. This latest issue of AfricaFocus Bulletin contains statements from Human Rights Watch and a background briefing from Reporters without Borders on press freedom and the internet in Tunisia, as well as links to other recent commentary and more extensive background on human rights and democracy in Tunisia.

Preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society to be hosted by Tunisia in the year 2005, was the main topic of a recent special cabinet meeting chaired by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Reporters Without Borders has called on the Tunisian government to stop its three-year campaign of harassment against journalist and human rights activist Néziha Rejiba ("Om Zied"), who has angered the authorities by material she has posted on the Internet and remarks she has made on foreign satellite TV stations.

The Tunisian government should release journalist Abdullah Zouari immediately and unconditionally, Human Rights Watch has said. Zouari was arrested after he assisted a Human Rights Watch research mission in the south of Tunisia. Zouari, currently in Harboub prison, has faced constant harassment since he completed an 11-year prison sentence in June 2002.

Tunisian cyber-dissident Zouhair Yahyaoui, jailed for two years for allegedly "putting out false news" on his Internet website TUNeZINE.com, has won the first Cyber-Freedom Prize awarded by Reporters s@ns frontières - Globenet for 2003. At least 51 cyber-dissidents are in prison around the world.

Amnesty International has called on the Tunisian government to urgently reform its justice system as the human rights organisation published a new report revealing endemic human rights abuse in Tunisia, where even the number of people held in its prisons is a secret.

PEN American Centre has named Zouhair Yahyaoui, a Tunisian Internet activist whose popular electronic magazine earned him a 2-year prison term, as a recipient of its 2003 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Awards. The awards, which honor international literary figures who have been persecuted or imprisoned for exercising or defending the right to freedom of expression, will be presented at PEN's Annual Gala on April 22, 2003 at the Pierre Hotel in New York City.

Press-freedom conditions in Tunisia were under the spotlight last week as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called on Tunisian authorities to release two journalists from prison.