Yet Another Tunisian Human Rights Activist Attacked: Violent Assault on Sihem Ben Sedrine

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) is deeply concerned about the violent assault on Ms Sihem Ben Sedrine, member and ex-spokes person of the Conseil National pour les Libertés en Tunisia (CNLT), a member organisation of the EMHRN.

On 5 January in the afternoon, Ms Sihem Ben Sedrine, journalist and human rights activist, was attacked by an unknown person, upon returning to her home, which also holds the offices of the CNLT.

Ms Ben Sedrine was assaulted and punched several times in the face, leaving her on the ground with a split lip and many bruises.

There are reasons to be believe that this attack was staged by the secret police as the offices of the CNLT have been held under surveillance since the beginning of January.

The EMHRN finds the attack even more alarming in the context of the current and systematic harassment of human rights defenders in Tunisia and the deterioration of human rights witnessed in Tunisia in recent years, especially in the field of freedom of expression and association.

The EMHRN calls upon the Tunisian authorities to:

Put an end to harassment, intimidation, threats, and deliberate attacks on human rights defenders;

Start an impartial and independent inquiry into the attack on Ms Sihem Ben Sedrine in order to identify the perpetrator(s) and ensure his/their prosecution;

Abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders adopted on December 9, 1998 by the UN General Assembly and in particular its Article 1, which states that: "Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international level;"

respect its human rights commitments according to international standards and as expressed in the Barcelona Declaration to which Tunisia is a part as well as article 2 of the EU-Tunisia Association Agreement.

 
For further information, please contact:

Marit Floe Jorgensen, mfj@euromedrights.net , Tel: +45 32 69 89 12.