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| Africa North |
| UN official finds flaws with Tunisia anti-terrorism law |
| 2010-01-30 |
| [Maghrebia] Tunisia's 2003 anti-terrorism law suffers from "serious inconsistencies", according to a UN official visiting the country on an official fact-finding trip. "There is a contradiction between legislation and reality," said UN Special Rapporteur Michael Scheinin in Tunis on Tuesday (January 26th) at the conclusion of his 4-day evaluation. After meeting with government ministers, law enforcement officers, judicial officials, NGO representatives and prison inmates jailed on terrorism charges, Scheinin told a Tunis press conference that he had found "gaps" between the law of 2003 and what is actually happening in the country. The UN expert on human rights in the fight against terrorism expressed the greatest concern over what he called the law's lack of a clear definition of terrorism. "The law here has been punishing people since 2003 for their intentions," the UN official wrote in his report, which was published on Tuesday. "I heard of numerous cases of -- and saw several -- young men whose main 'crime' was to have downloaded or watched certain programmes online [or] having met to discuss some religious issues with others". Several NGOs estimate that 2,000 people are now detained as a result of the law. But the Ministry of Justice dismisses that number, claiming only 400 people have been detained under the law's provisions. Scheinin also took issue with what he called authorities' violations of the 2003 law. Arresting individuals with no clear link to terrorism under this law has "a counter-productive effect in the fight against terrorism", the official said in his report. "As terrorism is not an everyday phenomenon in Tunisia, it appears that the scope of application of the terrorism provisions has grown too wide and could be reduced," he wrote. The UN official also alleged that Tunisian police post-date arrest warrants to hold suspects for extended periods, and noted what he called worryingly low numbers of prosecutions on terrorism charges, as compared to the frequency of allegations. Scheinin praised Tunisia, however, for its commitment to "investing in education, addressing social disparities and [the] overall fight against poverty", emphasising the key role played by these sectors in preventing terrorism. In addition, he applauded Tunisian legislators for amending the anti-terrorism law by "narrowing the vague provisions regarding incitement" and abolishing "faceless judges" from trials. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 UN Special Rapporteur Michael Scheinin ...The UN expert on human rights .... "I heard of numerous cases of -- and saw several -- " The |
| Posted by: Phaising tse Tung8928 2010-01-30 10:48 |