The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) has found serious cause for concern regarding the restrictions on civil liberties in Tunisia, ahead of the World Summit for Information Society (WSIS) meeting to take place in Tunis at the end of this year.
The IFEX joint monitoring visit, which took place in late January, sought to evaluate the state of freedom of expression in the country and to assess conditions for participation in the summit.
Concerns were raised by members of the group about the gross restrictions on the freedom of the press, media, publishing and the Internet in the northern African nation.
The IFEX delegation includes representatives of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, International Publishers Association, Norwegian PEN, World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters and the World Press Freedom Committee.
As part of the delegation`s study into freedom of expression and restrictions on civil liberties, members of the committee met with Tunisian writers, publishers and human rights organisations, as well as government officials and government-sponsored agencies.
According to the IFEX report, it found serious cause for concern in at least eight major areas.
These concerns included the blocking of Web sites; blocking of the distribution of books and publications; restrictions on the freedom of association, including the right of organisations to be legally established and to hold meetings; and press censorship and lack of diversity of content in newspapers.
Other issues raised by the delegation were those regarding restrictions on movement of human rights activists, along with police surveillance, intimidation and interception of communications; lack of pluralism in broadcast ownership, with only one private broadcaster; imprisonment of individuals for their opinions and media activities; and the use of torture with impunity by the security services.
The IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group is preparing a full report on the state of freedom of expression in Tunisia with recommendations for improvement, prior to the WSIS taking place.
The report will be published at the next preparatory committee meeting of the WSIS - taking place in Geneva between 17 and February 2005 - and should provide indicators for monitoring freedom of expression in Tunisia in the run up to the World Summit.
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