Tunisia: Harassment and attacks on human rights lawyers, Ms Radhia Nasraoui, Mr Raouf Ayadi, and Mr Abdelwahab Maatar
Human rights defenders Ms Radhia Nasraoui and Mr Raouf Ayadi were subjected to a "Zero six" full body and luggage search on their return to the country. Zero Six refers to the code used in the security database, authorising full body and luggage search and confiscation of documents every time the person leaves or returns to the country. Abdelwahab Maatar was beaten in Sfax airport for refusing to be body searched.
Further Information
Radia Nasraoui is the president of the Association de lutte contre la torture en Tunisie – ALTT (Association against torture in Tunisia), Raouf Ayadi is the former secretary general of the Conseil national pour les libertés en Tunisie - CNLT (National Council for Liberties in Tunisia) and Abdelwahab Maatar is a human rights lawyer. Front Line issued a previous appeal concerning the harassment of Radhia Nasraoui on 29 May 2009.
On 23 June 2009, Radhia Nasraoui and Raouf Ayadi were returning to Tunisia from Geneva when they were stopped at Tunis-Carthage airport by a group of plain-clothed security officers.
A customs officer asked Raouf Ayadi to follow him into a room for a body search but when Raouf Ayadi asked what the legal ground was for such a demand, four of the security officers pounced on him, pinned him to the ground, beat him and ripped his clothes in front of all other passengers.
They then lifted him by his arms and legs and carried him into an office where they insulted and beat him, and carried out the body search keeping him on the ground.
At the same time Radhia Nasraoui, who was just behind Raouf Ayadi and had witnessed the scene, called her husband, Hamma Hammami, spokesperson for the Communist Party of the Workers of Tunisia (PCOT), who was waiting for her in arrivals.
Immediately one of the officers twisted her arm to prevent her from continuing the call, knocking her mobile phone to the ground. She was then pushed to the ground and her laptop was thrown a few meters away from her.
The officers then grabbed her and brought her into an office where she was also searched. She received bruising to her right arm. On leaving the security area they were once again insulted by the security agents who followed them closely.
When Hamma Hammami objected about what had just happened, he was violently shoved while another officer attacked Raouf Ayadi again, kicking him and injuring his knee.
At the same time, in Sfax airport, Abdelwahab Maatar was held for more than two hours on returning from a trip to Paris, following his refusal to be body searched. He was also treated harshly and his glasses were broken when one of the police officers hit him in the face.
It is reported that the three human rights defenders are subjected to the so-called 'zero-six' measure, so named after the code used in the centralised security database, consisting in subjecting the person to full body and luggage search and confiscation of documents and other materials every time they leave or return to the country.
Front Line believes that the aforementioned human rights defenders have been targeted in an attempt to penalise them for their peaceful and legitimate activities in defence of human rights. Front Line is concerned that human rights defenders in Tunisia are increasingly being subjected to body searches in Tunisian airports for no other reason than to harass and humiliate them.
This Urgent Appeal has now ended. No further action is requested at this point. Thank you for taking action on this case.
Front Line issues Urgent Appeals on behalf of human rights defenders at risk on a daily basis. These Appeals normally remain active on our web site for a period of up to six weeks, depending on the situation. After this time they will be archived. Front Line maintains a watching brief on all these cases but no further action is requested after the six weeks, unless there is a significant development in the case.
