In Tunisia, 30-year-old Mohamed Sakhr El-Matri is increasingly viewed as a possible successor to his dictatorial father-in-law, President Ben Ali. The American ambassador in Tunis met him last year and wrote a report marked "secret" which has now been published by Wikileaks:
El-Matri presented… Read more
Archive: tunisia
30th July 2010
At the end of his fact-finding visit to Tunisia this week, Martin Scheinin, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, was full of praise for the Tunisian approach to dealing with terrorism. At least, he was if you believe the Tunisian media.
It is true that he thanked… Read more
20th July 2010
The latest issue of the Tunisian weekly, al-Mawqif, has disappeared from the news-stands – apparently confiscated by government agents.
There has been no court order (which would make the seizure legal) and the government denies taking action against the paper, though witnesses have reported seeing… Read more
19th June 2010
Tunisia's parliament has approved a law which will criminalise human rights activists and others who make contact with "foreign organisations" with the aim of harming the country's "vital interests and its economic security". Offenders face up to five years' jail in peacetime or 12 years in wartime… Read more
25th March 2010
Human Rights Watch had a spot of bother earlier this week over a press conference in Tunisia to introduce its latest report on the regime's harassment of critics:
"On March 22, the Minister for Communications, Oussama Romdhani, told Human Rights Watch that the government did not want the news… Read more
27th January 2010
Not to be outdone by Egypt holding a public holiday to celebrate its police force, another regime with a grim human rights record is playing a joke on its citizens. In Tunisia, it's National Laughter Week.
Posted by Brian Whitaker, 27 January 2010.
22nd January 2010
Martin Scheinin, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, is due to begin a four-day fact-finding visit to Tunisia tomorrow.
Scheinin, a Finnish professor of international law, angered the Egyptian government last October with a highly critical report about systematic… Read more
29th November 2009
There is speculation among bloggers and on Twitter about the health of the Tunisian president, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. The president, who is 73 and won a fifth presidential term in elections last month, abruptly cancelled a visit from the king of Spain which had been scheduled for last Tuesday.… Read more
9th November 2009
Reinvigorated after its meticulously orchestrated election victory, the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia is hard at work again.
Fatma Riahi, a 34-year-old blogger and drama teacher from Monastir, was detained last week for interrogation – along with her computer. She has since been released following a … Read more
27th October 2009
So. In "an atmosphere of repression" (© Human Rights Watch) president Ben Ali won the Tunisian election with 89.62% of the votes. That's a drop of almost five per cent on the 1994 result and 10 per cent less than in 1999 when he got a truly incredible 99.66%. If his support continues to decline at… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
