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| Press Release concerning the Trial of Hamma Hammami | Date: 05-02-2002 |
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Press Release concerning the Trial of Hamma Hammami The EMHRN strongly condemns the brutal police action in court during the trial of Hamma Hammami in Tunisia The EMHRN strongly condemns the brutal conduct of the Tunisian police at the court hearing of Hamma Hammami and three other members of the outlawed Communist Workers Party in Tunis on 2 February 2002. The four men were in 1999 sentenced in absentia to nine years and three months imprisonment and have been hiding for the last four years, before deciding to present themselves for their appeal trial. According to the EMHRN observers*, the trial was disrupted when the defendants were physically dragged from the courthouse by policemen shortly after the trial had begun. The EMHRN observers described the police action as an abduction and believe that the use of heavy-handed techniques by armed police officers towards the defendants, the lawyers and the international observers constitute a serious violation of the rule of law. The judge should have guaranteed security in the court, and the police intervention reflects a grave and worrying lack of independence in the Tunisian judicial system. The EMHRN has along with ten other human rights groups sent a letter to Tunisian President Ben-Ali, appealing to him to address the immediate problems facing the judiciary in Tunisia, particularly the recourse to violence in order to silence dissidents and intimidate lawyers. The letter also urged President Ben-Ali to guarantee the safety and physical integrity of the four people concerned in this trial. The EMHRN strongly calls upon Tunisia to respect its human rights commitments according to international standards and as expressed in the Barcelona Declaration to which Tunisia is a party as well as article 2 of the EU-Tunisian Association Agreement. * The EMHRN observers were: Mr Chris Jacobs, Lawyer, Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales Mr Thierry Brunet, Lawyer, Marseille Bar Copenhagen 4.2.2002 For further information please contact: Marc Schade-Poulsen, Executive Director / Marit Floe Joergensen, Information Officer Euro Mediterranean Human Rights Network, Wilders Plads 8 H, DK-1403 Copenhagen K, Denmark Tel: +45-32 69 89 12 / Fax: +45-32 69 89 01 E-mail: info@euromedrights.net |
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