EXPERT ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER REPORTS ABOUT HUNGER STRIKE BY TUNISIAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER

26.11.03
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, is deeply concerned about the situation of Tunisian human rights defender Radhia Nasraoui, lawyer and prominent member of the Tunisian bar and president of the Association de Lutte contre la Torture (ALCT), who has been on hunger strike since 15 October 2003 to protest against constant harassment by the authorities.
The Special Representative has received allegations of surveillance and harassment, including physical assaults, against Ms. Nasraoui in reprisal for her work as a human rights defender. She has also been informed of pressure exerted on Ms. Nasraoui’s clients, including those incarcerated, to coerce them into changing their legal representation. Ms. Nasraoui, who is on her forty-third day of hunger strike, has started suffering serious health consequences and concerns have been expressed that her physical integrity is at risk.
The Special Representative urges the Government to take necessary measures to ensure the full protection of human rights defenders in Tunisia, in particular Ms. Nasraoui, in the light of the international norms endorsed by the country. In particular, she urges the relevant Tunisian authorities to ensure that the right to freedom of expression, association, and particularly the right to offer legal counsel and be free from retaliation for acting in the defense of human rights, as stipulated in the unanimously adopted 1998 United Nations Declaration on the Rights and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, are respected.
Ms. Jilani calls on both parties to reconsider the situation and to show flexibility so that a solution can be found in compliance with the rights recognized by the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.