{"items":[{"item":{"name":"Abdallah Zouari","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/abdallah_zouari.jpg","status":"Released","date_from":"2009-09-15","date_to":"2009-09-15","blog_url":"http:\/\/citizenzouari.wordpress.com\/","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.nawaat.org\/portail\/2005\/02\/04\/solidarite-avec-le-journaliste-abdallah-zouari\/","background":"

Tunisian blogger and former political prisoner Abdallah Zouari<\/a> was arrested<\/a> on 15 September 2009 by plainclothes agents in the southern city of Zarzis.<\/p>\n

During the eight hours he was detained, Zouari<\/a> was asked to disclose the passwords of his email accounts and interrogated about his most recent report<\/a> published the day before on the banned Tunisnews<\/a> website.<\/p>\n

Mr Zouari was questioned about members of human rights groups who\nvisited him in the last seven years and his media interviews Mr Zouari\nwas warned to stop making statements that could tarnish the image of\nTunisia, and threatened with a  smear campaign featuring fake\npornographic video to damage his reputation.<\/p>\n

Since his release in 2002, after 11 years in jail, Mr Zouari remains\nconfined to internal exile in a rural district 500 kilometers from his\nfamily's home in Tunis. His confinement continues despite a court order\nissued on August 2nd, 2009<\/a>, which purportedly ended seven years of house arrest.<\/p>\n

Mr Zouari is under round-the-clock police surveillance, prevented from accessing the Internet and prohibited from using local Internet caf\u00e9s<\/a>.\nHe has been arrested several times for protesting the banishment and\nmistreatment and for communicating with the outside world through the\nInternet.<\/p>\n

Abdallah Zouari is blogging at Citizen Zouari\u202c<\/a>. His blog is among tens of other critical blogs<\/a> that are blocked in Tunisia.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/abdallah-zouari","city":"Zarzis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"33.503900","lon":"11.112900"}},{"item":{"name":"Abdelghaffar Guiza","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/GUIZA_Abdelghaffar.png","status":"Released","date_from":"2003-02-10","date_to":"2006-02-27","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.zarzis.org\/","background":"

Tunisian authorities arrested eight young men in the city of Zarzis in the South of Tunisia. They were accused of terrorism. The evidence was a set of files downloaded from the internet. Authorities accused the them of having formed a terrorist group, holding meetings without a license, theft, and preparation of explosives. On 16 April 2004, the court sentenced six of the youth to 19 years of imprisonment each. A seventh defendant was was accused of being the leader of the group and sentenced to 26 years. The eighth defendant, who was under age, was sentenced to 25 months imprisonment. Following appeals the sentences were reduced.<\/p>\n

A presidential pardon on 27 February 2006 resulted in the release of six of the youth of Zarzis. However, they continue to face harassment (The Initiative For an Open Arab Internet<\/a>).<\/p>\n

<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/abdelghaffar-guiza","city":"Zarzis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"33.503900","lon":"11.112928"}},{"item":{"name":"Aymen Mcharek","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/ayman-mcharek.png","status":"Released","date_from":"2003-03-16","date_to":"2006-02-27","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.zarzis.org\/","background":"

Tunisian authorities arrested 8 youths in the city of Zarzis in the South of Tunisia . They were accused of terrorism. The only evidence was a group of files downloaded from the internet. Authorities accused the 8 Tunisians of having formed a terrorist group to terrorise the public, holding meetings without a license, theft, and preparation of explosives. On 16 April 2004 , the court sentenced 6 of the youth to 19 years of imprisonment. A seventh defendant was sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment as he was accused of being the leader of the group, while the eighth defendant, who was under age, was sentenced to 25 months imprisonment. Following appeals the sentences were reduce.A presidential pardon on 27 February 2006 resulted in the release of six of the youth of Zarzis. However, they continue to face harassment. (The Initiative For an Open Arab Internet<\/a>)<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/aymen-mcharek","city":"Zarzis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"33.503900","lon":"11.112843"}},{"item":{"name":"Emna Ben Jemaa","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Emna_Ben_Jemaa.jpg","status":"Threatened","date_from":"2010-05-21","date_to":"2010-05-21","blog_url":"http:\/\/emmabenji.canalblog.com\/","background":"

Emna Ben Jemaa is a blogger, frequent contributor to Tunis Hebdo and Africa Magazine, and Assistant Professor of Marketing at Time University in Tunis<\/a>. She was arrested<\/a> on Mai 21, 2010 then taken to a police station in Tunis, held for seven hours and treated very disrespectfully. She was interrogated about her online activities, her relation with Tunisian bloggers and journalists and her trips abroad. They also asked her about the organizers of the anti-censorships rally in front of the Tunisian Ministry of communication technologies  that was planed to be held the next day, on May 22, to protest the Internet filtering policy in the country.<\/p>\n

She was also questioned about her relation with the U.S embassy in Tunis and was informed that her attendance of the three-day workshop for North African bloggers that was held  in February 2010 in the Moroccan capital Rabat and funded by Search for Common Ground (SFCG)<\/a>, a non-governmental organization based in Washington DC, could be perceived as espionage and lobbying foreign bodies, an act which, according to the newly adopted amendment to Article 61bis of the Penal Code<\/a> that criminalizes contacting \u201cagents of a foreign power to undermine the military or diplomatic situation in Tunisia\u201d, could be punishable by up to 20 years in prison, with a minimum sentence of five years. <\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/emna-ben-jemaa","city":"Tunis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"36.818810","lon":"10.165960"}},{"item":{"name":"Fatma Riahi","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/fatma_riahi.jpg","status":"Released","date_from":"2009-11-02","date_to":"2009-11-07","blog_url":"http:\/\/fatma-arabicca.blogspot.com\/","campaign_url":"http:\/\/freearabicca.wordpress.com","background":"

On Monday, November 2nd, 2009, Tunisian blogger and college Theatre professor, Fatma Riahi (34), known online as Arabicca, was summoned to appear before the Criminal Brigade of Gorjani (Tunis), where she was questioned about her online activities. <\/p>\n

Fatma was released the same day around 10 pm then summoned again the next day, on Tuesday November 3rd when three Security officers escorted her to her house in Monastir, located at 160 km from the capital (Tunis), to conduct a search for evidence that she may be hiding behind the pen-name of the famous Tunisian cartoonist blogger Blog de Z<\/a><\/em>. They also confiscated her PC. On Wednesday, they escorted her again to her home in search for her passwords and managed to access her facebook account.<\/p>\n

Since then, Arabicca has not been released and has been denied to meet her lawyer, Miss Laila Ben Debba, who spoke to her only for few minutes. Arabicca is being detained in Gorjani Police Station and could face criminal libel charge that potentially carries a prison term to up to three years in prison. <\/p>\n

Fatma was blogging at Fatma Arabicca<\/a><\/em>. A blog that she deleted three days before the arrest.<\/p>\n

A Free Arabicca<\/a> campaign blog has been launched by fellow Tunisian bloggers in support for Fatma, as well as a facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

update 1<\/strong>: November 6th, 2009<\/em> - Lawyer Ben Debba said fatma has been transferred to Bouchoucha police station and might be summoned to appear before a public prosecutor.<\/p>\n

update 2<\/strong>: November 7th, 2009<\/em> - Lawyer Ben Debba said that fatma has been released.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/fatma-riahi","city":"Tunis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"36.818810","lon":"10.165960"}},{"item":{"name":"Hamza Mahroug","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Hamza_Mahroug.png","status":"Released","date_from":"2003-02-09","date_to":"2006-02-27","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.zarzis.org\/","background":"

Tunisian authorities arrested 8 youths in the city of Zarzis in the South of Tunisia . They were accused of terrorism. The only evidence was a group of files downloaded from the internet. Authorities accused the 8 Tunisians of having formed a terrorist group to terrorise the public, holding meetings without a license, theft, and preparation of explosives. On 16 April 2004 , the court sentenced 6 of the youth to 19 years of imprisonment. A seventh defendant was sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment as he was accused of being the leader of the group, while the eighth defendant, who was under age, was sentenced to 25 months imprisonment. Following appeals the sentences were reduce.A presidential pardon on 27 February 2006 resulted in the release of six of the youth of Zarzis. However, they continue to face harassment. (The Initiative For an Open Arab Internet<\/a>)<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/hamza-mahroug","city":"Zarzis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"33.500179","lon":"11.107178"}},{"item":{"name":"Khedija Arfaoui","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Khedija_Arfaoui.jpeg","status":"Under Arrest","date_from":"2009-07-04","date_to":"2009-07-04","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/group.php?gid=99903788014","background":"

Dr Khedija Arfaoui, a feminist retired professor at the Manouba University in Tunis, was accused of spreading a message on Facebook about the rumor of 5 children being abducted from school in Tunisia. Recent rumors that children have been abducted and trafficked in Tunisia have been circulating for some months and have reached epidemic proportions with many parents concerned that their kids will be kidnapped, despite an official denial by Tunisia's Minister of Interior during a press conference.<\/p>\n

Dr. Khedija Arfaoui is a Tunisian women\u2019s rights activists  and member of the Feminist Association of Tunisian Women for Research and Development and founder of the Association of Development and Protection of the Environment (ADPE).<\/p>\n

On Saturday, July 4, 2009, The 8th Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Tunis has condemned <\/a> a retired professor, Dr Khedija Arfaoui<\/a>, to eight months in prison for spreading rumors, on the social networking website Facebook, liable to disrupt public order.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/khedija-arfaoui","city":"Tunis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"36.818080","lon":"10.178833"}},{"item":{"name":"Mariam Zouaghi","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Mariam_Zouaghi.png","status":"Under Arrest","date_from":"2008-07-26","date_to":"2008-07-26","background":"

22-year old ICT Student, Mariam Zouaghi, has been arrested, on July 26th, 2008, for visiting banned websites.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/mariam-zouaghi","country":"Tunisia","lat":"34.952593","lon":"9.953613"}},{"item":{"name":"Moez El Bey","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Moez-El-Bey.jpg","status":"Threatened","date_from":"2009-10-05","date_to":"2009-10-05","blog_url":"http:\/\/www.kalima-tunisie.info\/","background":"

Moez El Bey, a correspondent with the online radio Kalima<\/em><\/a> - a website banned in Tunisia since it's launch in 2000 - has been assaulted by States Security agents on the street of Tunis. This politically motivated assault who targeted Mr El Bey, who prior to the assault had published reports on the banned website, is nothing more than part of the continued attempts to curtailing online free speech in one of the most repressive regime in the region.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/moez-el-bey","city":"Tunis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"36.799940","lon":"10.182411"}},{"item":{"name":"Mohamed Fourati","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Mohamed-Fourati.png","status":"Threatened","date_from":"2007-03-09","date_to":"2007-03-09","blog_url":"http:\/\/fourati-mohamed.maktoobblog.com\/","background":"

<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/mohamed-fourati","country":"Tunisia","lat":"35.532226","lon":"9.667969"}},{"item":{"name":"Mohammed Abbou","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/abbou2.jpg","status":"Released","date_from":"2005-04-01","date_to":"2007-07-24","background":"

<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/mohammed-abbou","country":"Tunisia","lat":"35.245619","lon":"8.964844"}},{"item":{"name":"Neila Charchour Hachicha","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/neila-charchour-hchicha.png","status":"Threatened","date_from":"2006-03-31","date_to":"2006-03-31","blog_url":"http:\/\/www.neila-charchour.com\/","background":"

\n<\/p>

Tunisian blogger and activist Neila Charchour Hachicha was<\/a> forced to stop blogging<\/a> since the Tunisian regime threatened her family after she spoke out publicly against Ben Ali's regime on Al Jazeera and at the conference \"Dissent and Reform in the Arab World<\/a>\" organized by the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. This is what she wrote in her last article \"From Tunisia, a Tale of Cruelty and Silence<\/a>\", published by the Lebanese Daily Star<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Within a month, the government had made bogus charges against my husband for a real estate transaction, which led to a 10-month prison sentence. Eyewitnesses watched the police confiscate my car, although they continue to deny involvement. Plainclothes police surrounded my house and registered the license plate numbers of all visitors. Some friends told me they received instructions not to visit or contact me. Others alerted me that they were receiving by mail an indecently doctored photo taken of my daughter during her engagement party. The government blocked my Internet connection. Finally the police summoned me for hours of questioning. They asked me to sign a statement never to blame the police again for its abuses.\"<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/neila-charchour-hachicha","city":"Tunis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"35.817813","lon":"8.964844"}},{"item":{"name":"Nizar Ben Hassen","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Nizar_Ben_hassen.jpg","status":"Threatened","date_from":"2010-08-24","date_to":"2010-08-24","blog_url":"http:\/\/www.pdpinfo.org\/","background":"

Following a libel and slander complaint  against him filed by a police officer  alleging that he was defamed by Nizar's online comments, the young political activists and member of the Democratic Progressive Party<\/a> was investigated<\/a> in the office of the police station of Mahdia on August 24, 2010 by a close colleague of the same officer who filed the complaint, which may affect the impartiality of the investigation of the case.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/nizar-ben-hassen","city":"Mahdia","country":"Tunisia","lat":"35.502446","lon":"11.045721"}},{"item":{"name":"Omar Chlendi","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Omar_Chlendi.png","status":"Deceased","date_from":"2003-02-08","date_to":"2006-02-27","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.zarzis.org\/","background":"

Tunisian authorities arrested 8 youths in the city of Zarzis in the South of Tunisia . They were accused of terrorism. The only evidence was a group of files downloaded from the internet. Authorities accused the 8 Tunisians of having formed a terrorist group to terrorise the public, holding meetings without a license, theft, and preparation of explosives. On 16 April 2004 , the court sentenced 6 of the youth to 19 years of imprisonment. A seventh defendant was sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment as he was accused of being the leader of the group, while the eighth defendant, who was under age, was sentenced to 25 months imprisonment. Following appeals the sentences were reduce.A presidential pardon on 27 February 2006 resulted in the release of six of the youth of Zarzis. However, they continue to face harassment. (The Initiative For an Open Arab Internet<\/a>)<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/omar-chlendi","city":"Zarzis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"33.503898","lon":"11.112891"}},{"item":{"name":"Omar Rached","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Omar_Rached.png","status":"Released","date_from":"2003-02-18","date_to":"2006-02-27","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.zarzis.org\/","background":"

Tunisian authorities arrested 8 youths in the city of Zarzis in the South of Tunisia . They were accused of terrorism. The only evidence was a group of files downloaded from the internet. Authorities accused the 8 Tunisians of having formed a terrorist group to terrorise the public, holding meetings without a license, theft, and preparation of explosives. On 16 April 2004 , the court sentenced 6 of the youth to 19 years of imprisonment. A seventh defendant was sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment as he was accused of being the leader of the group, while the eighth defendant, who was under age, was sentenced to 25 months imprisonment. Following appeals the sentences were reduce.A presidential pardon on 27 February 2006 resulted in the release of six of the youth of Zarzis. However, they continue to face harassment. (The Initiative For an Open Arab Internet<\/a>)<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/omar-rached","city":"Zarzis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"33.503936","lon":"11.112800"}},{"item":{"name":"Ramzi Bettibi","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Ramzi-Bettibi.png","status":"Released","date_from":"2005-03-15","date_to":"2007-11-07","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.hrw.org\/en\/news\/2006\/03\/15\/tunisia-free-jailed-website-moderator","background":"

Ramzi Bettibi was arrested at the internet caf\u00e9 where he worked (March 15, 2005). He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for copying, onto a forum board he moderated, an online statement from a group threatening terror attacks if former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon attended the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunisia. According to the second report of The Initiative For an Open Arab Internet, \u201cBettibi was treated violently and his books and CDs were confiscated from his home even though there was no court order to do take these items. \u201d<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/ramzi-bettibi","country":"Tunisia","lat":"35.532226","lon":"9.667969"}},{"item":{"name":"Ridha Bel Hadj Ibrahim","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Ridha_Bel_Hadj_Ibrahim.png","status":"Released","date_from":"2003-02-17","date_to":"2006-02-27","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.zarzis.org\/","background":"

Tunisian authorities arrested 8 youths in the city of Zarzis in the South of Tunisia . They were accused of terrorism. The only evidence was a group of files downloaded from the internet. Authorities accused the 8 Tunisians of having formed a terrorist group to terrorise the public, holding meetings without a license, theft, and preparation of explosives. On 16 April 2004 , the court sentenced 6 of the youth to 19 years of imprisonment. A seventh defendant was sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment as he was accused of being the leader of the group, while the eighth defendant, who was under age, was sentenced to 25 months imprisonment. Following appeals the sentences were reduce.A presidential pardon on 27 February 2006 resulted in the release of six of the youth of Zarzis. However, they continue to face harassment. (The Initiative For an Open Arab Internet<\/a>)<\/p>\n

<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/ridha-bel-hadj-ibrahim","city":"Zarzis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"33.503900","lon":"11.111984"}},{"item":{"name":"Slim Amamou","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/slim_amamou.jpg","status":"Released","date_from":"2010-05-21","date_to":"2010-05-21","blog_url":"http:\/\/NoMemorySpace.wordpress.com\/","background":"

Blogger and anti-censorship activist Slim Amamou<\/a> (@slim404<\/a>), together with Yassin Ayari, took upon themselves the courageous responsibility of calling to rally in front of the Tunisian Ministry of communication technologies on May 22nd to protest the Internet filtering policy in the country, while ensuring to request a permit and respect the proper legal procedures<\/a> which are required to hold a rally. The rally in Tunisia was also  part of a May 22 worldwide day against Internet filtering<\/a> in the country.On May 21, a day before the rally, the two main organizers were arrested and investigated during the entire day. They appeared later on separate video messages where they were forced by the security forces to call off the rally<\/a> and urge protestors to stay home. Slim was also forced to sign a document stating that he \u201cunderstood that his call for a demonstration is wrong<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the ousting of Ben Ali, Amamou was made a member of the government ministry, though he later resigned.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/slim-amamou","city":"Tunis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"36.818810","lon":"10.165960"}},{"item":{"name":"Slim Boukhdhir","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/slim_greve.jpg","status":"Released","date_from":"2007-11-26","date_to":"2008-07-21","blog_url":"http:\/\/alkalamhor.maktoobblog.com\/","campaign_url":"http:\/\/anticensuretounes.blogspot.com\/2008\/07\/blog-post_2096.html","background":"

Tunisian Police arrested Boukhdhir on the morning of 26 November 2007 while he was on his way to the Khaznadar police station, in the suburbs of Tunis, to recover his passport. Police officials had earlier refused to grant him a passport, for which he had staged a 15-day hunger strike in early November. (Ifex) He was charged with \u201caggression against a public employee\u201d and \u201caffront to public decency\u201d.<\/p>\n

On December 04th, 2007, a Tunisian court has sentenced blogger and journalist Slim Boukhdhir to a one-year prison sentence and a 5 dinar fine (approx. 3 Euros) for \"insulting behavior towards an official in the exercise of his duty\" (eight months), \"breach of accepted standards of good behavior,\" (four months) and \"refusal to produce his identity papers to the police.\"<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/slim-boukhdhir","city":"Sfax","country":"Tunisia","lat":"36.668419","lon":"10.019531"}},{"item":{"name":"Yassine Ayari","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/yacine-ayyari.jpg","status":"Threatened","date_from":"2010-05-21","date_to":"2010-05-21","background":"

Anti-censorship activist Yassin Ayari, together with blogger and activist Slim Amamou<\/a> (@slim404<\/a>), took upon themselves the courageous responsibility of calling to rally in front of the Tunisian Ministry of communication technologies on May 22nd to protest the Internet filtering policy in the counry, while ensuring to request a permit and respect the proper legal procedures<\/a> which are required to hold a rally. The rally in Tunisia was also  part of a May 22 worldwide day against Internet filtering<\/a> in the country.On May 21, a day before the rally, the two main organizers were arrested and investigated during the entire day. They appeared later on separate video messages where they were forced by the security forces to call off the rally<\/a> and urge protestors to stay home. Slim was also forced to sign a document stating that he \u201cunderstood that his call for a demonstration is wrong<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/yassine-ayari","city":"Tunis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"36.818810","lon":"10.165960"}},{"item":{"name":"Zied el-Heni","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/ZiedEL-HENI.jpg","status":"Threatened","date_from":"2009-04-10","date_to":"2009-04-10","blog_url":"http:\/\/journaliste-tunisien-13.blogspot.com\/","background":"

The house of the Tunisian journalist and blogger Zied el-Heni has been raided last night (April 10, 2009). In a blog post published today, Zied wrote that his laptop and CDs which contain all his work have been robbed:<\/p>\n

I am sorry to inform you that my house has been raided and robbed on April 10, 2009. They stole my laptop and CDs which contain the efforts of my work day and night. I surrendered to pressure from friends, and reported the incident to the police, who took the usual procedures in such cases.<\/p>\n

In September 2008, blogger Zied el-Heni filed a lawsuit against the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) for blocking the social networking website Facebook, which had lasted for two weeks, claiming that the ATI's illegal censorship violated his right to free access to information. The case was dismissed by the Third District Court in November 2008.<\/p>\n

Zied's case was supported massively by Tunisian bloggers who declared November 4th (the date of the court hearing on lawsuit that was filed by blogger Zied El Heni against the Tunisian Internet Agency) as a national day for the freedom of blogging.<\/p>\n

Zied's blog has been blocked in Tunisia since October 23th, 2008. Thirty other personal blogs are also blocked by the Tunisian Internet Agency.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/zied-el-heni","country":"Tunisia","lat":"36.668419","lon":"10.195313"}},{"item":{"name":"Zouhaier Makhlouf","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/Zouhaier_Makhlouf.jpg","status":"Released","date_from":"2009-10-20","date_to":"2010-02-12","blog_url":"http:\/\/www.assabilonline.net\/","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/group.php?gid=302102190561&v=wall","background":"

On October 20, 2009, Zouha\u00efer Makhlouf, a Tunisian human rights activist and writer for Assabil Online<\/a> was arrested for publishing an online video report<\/a> investigating the social, economic, and environmental problems in Nabeul (Dar Chaabane El Fehri), a coastal town in northeastern Tunisia.<\/p>\n

According to reports by several local human rights organizations<\/a> someone named Mourad Ladhib brought a case against Mr. Makhlouf accusing him of filming him without permission. Mr Makhlouf denied the charges against him, and refused to sign a police report claiming that his video report was created for the Democratic Progressive Party (a legal political party of which Makhlouf is an active member). Mr. Makhlouf insists he did not film any sensitive areas prohibited by law and accuses the investigator of politicizing the case.<\/p>\n

Mr Makhlouf was sent to Mornaguia Prison in the suburbs of Tunis. He began a hunger strike to protest his arrest on October 21, 2009. He is scheduled to be tried in court on November 3, 2009 on defamation charges and could be sentenced up to one year in prison<\/a> under the Tunisian Telecommunications Code. <\/p>\n

On October 26, Tunisian Security officials and plainclothes police surrounded the office of the Democratic Progressive Party to block a rally in support of the detained activist. On the same day, state security also surrounded Mr. Makhlouf's house, preventing his friends from speaking to his wife, who also began a hunger strike on October 22 in support of her husband.<\/p>\n

Despite repeated threats, Zouha\u00efer Makhlouf is one of the most active human rights activists in Tunisia online and offline. He has published several human rights testimonies<\/a> (video, audio, and text) which broke the silence on many sensitive issues and human rights abuses faced by Tunisian activists and former political prisoners<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On December 1st, 2009, online reporter Zouheir Makhlouf has been sentenced to 3 months prison term and ordered to pay a fine of 6000 dinars.<\/p>\n

On January 20, 2010, the appeal court in the city of Nabeul refused to release<\/a> Zouhair Makhlouf despite his completion of a three-month prison term. And on Februray 10th, 2010, the appeal court increased his term from three to four months. However, two days later, on February 12th, Zouhaier Makhlouf has been released from prison.<\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/zouhaier-makhlouf","city":"Nabeul","country":"Tunisia","lat":"36.456478","lon":"10.735050"}},{"item":{"name":"Zouhair Yahyaoui","portrait":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/zouhair_yahyaoui220.jpg","status":"Deceased","date_from":"2000-06-04","date_to":"2003-11-18","blog_url":"http:\/\/www.tunezine.com\/","campaign_url":"http:\/\/www.tunezine.com\/","background":"

On June 4, 2000, not long after his lively magazine, TuneZine<\/a>, invited readers to vote on whether Tunisia was a \"republic, a kingdom, a zoo or a prison,\" Yahyaoui was arrested at a Tunis cybercaf\u00e9 by six plainclothes police officers who did not have an arrest warrant. Upon his arrest, he was not informed of the charges levied against him and was prohibited from speaking with any of the 20 lawyers that stepped forward to represent him in court. His lawyers were also not allowed access to his file in preparation for the trial. The police officers who arrested him accompanied him home, searched it without a warrant, and confiscated his personal computer files before taking him into custody. <\/p>\n

His whereabouts were unknown for the five following days. During this time, he has reported that he was subjected to three sessions of \"suspension,\" a method of torture whereby the victim is suspended by his arms with his feet barely touching the ground. After the third session, he revealed his website's access code, allowing the Tunisian authorities to remove tunezine.com from the Internet.<\/p>\n

Yahyaoui was initially charged with \"publishing information known to be untrue\" under article 309 of the Tunisian Penal Code. He was later sentenced to one year for \"propagation of false news,\" and a further year and four months for non-authorized usage of an Internet connection\" and \"theft from an employer.\" on June 20, 2002 by the Tribunal de Premi\u00e8re Instance in Tunis. Yahyaoui did not attend this hearing, declaring that he \"did not trust a justice that followed orders [from above].\"<\/p>\n

Current status:Yahyaoui was re-tried on July 3, 2002. On July 10, his sentence was reduced on appeal from twenty-eight months to two years. He is now said to be in a prison some 28 kilometers from Tunis.<\/p>\n

Since Mr. Yahyaoui's incarceration, he has endured appalling prison conditions and ill treatment. It is reported that in September 2002, Mr. Yahyaoui began suffering from acute kidney problems. When he refused to take an undisclosed medicine to ease his kidney pains, two guards reportedly assaulted him, injuring his back. He was eventually admitted to hospital on September 13, 2002 for a brief period. Mr. Yahyaoui's cell is infested with cockroaches and he suffers from scabies as a direct result of squalid living conditions and infrequent access to water. Mr. Yahyaoui has gone on several hunger strikes to protest the intolerable detention conditions that he suffers. (Pen.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Zouhair received a conditional release on 18 November 2003 after more than 18 months in prison.<\/p>\n

Tunisian dissident Zouhair Yahyaoui has died at the age of 36 of a heart attack. <\/p>","permalink":"http:\/\/threatened.globalvoicesonline.org\/blogger\/zouhair-yahyaoui","city":"Tunis","country":"Tunisia","lat":"36.809285","lon":"10.173340"}}]}