President Zine El Abidine
Ben Ali
Palais Présidentiel
Tunisie
Your Excellency
In December 2006 and January 2007, 30 men were arrested, suspected of
involvement in a violent clash between security forces and an armed group near
the town of
The men stood trial on 30 November 2007 on charges including conspiracy
to overthrow the government, use of firearms and belonging to a terrorist
organization. They denied all the charges. Their trial, observed in part by
Amnesty International delegates, failed to meet international fair trial
standards.
The men stated in court that they had been tortured and otherwise
ill-treated during their detention, including by being suspended from the
ceiling, punched, kicked, beaten with sticks, walked on, given electric shocks
and subjected to mock executions. Some detainees were threatened with rape or with
the rape of their mothers and sisters. However, the court failed to investigate
adequately the defendants’ allegations of torture and forced confessions.
Twenty-nine of the men were sentenced to between three years and life
imprisonment. Saber Ragoubi
received a death sentence. He is currently being held in solitary confinement
and is not permitted visits from his family, or correspondence, in violation of
Tunisian law and international standards.
I call for Saber Ragoubi’s
death sentence to be commuted and for him to be treated humanely and granted
access to medical treatment and to his family.
Furthermore, I call for a re-trial of all 30 defendants in line with
international fair trial standards.
Sincerely,
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