MOHAMED ABBOU TO CONTINUE ACTIVISM FOR FREEDOM IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001044

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/FO (GRAY AND CARPENTER)
NEA/MAG (HOPKINS/HARRIS); NEA/PI; DRL
LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL PTER KPAO KDEM TS
SUBJECT: MOHAMED ABBOU TO CONTINUE ACTIVISM FOR FREEDOM IN
TUNISIA

REF: A. TUNIS 986

B. TUNIS 293

C. TUNIS 708

D. TUNIS 404

Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 b and d.

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Summary
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1. (C) On July 31, EmbOffs met with Mohamed Abbou, a
political prisoner released on July 24 after serving over two
years of a three-and-a-half year sentence. He and his wife
Samia expressed their appreciation for USG support of them
and their family during Abbou's incarceration. Abbou
discussed his plans, which include continued activism on
behalf of freedom of expression, a return to his legal
practice and work on his PhD dissertation on the press.
Abbou also critiqued Tunisia's judicial and prison systems.
End summary.

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Background
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2. (C) Mohamed Abbou was convicted of defaming the
judiciary and posing a threat to public order in 2005, and
sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. Abbou was
arrested after he posted two online articles that were
critical of President Ben Ali. The articles compared Ben Ali
to then-Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, and likened Tunisian
prisons to Abu Ghraib. During his incarceration in El Kef
prison, his wife Samia Abbou was subject to regular police
harassment and surveillance (Refs B and C); Abbou engaged in
hunger strikes to protest his conviction and prison
conditions. He was released without conditions on July 24
(Ref A).


3. (C) Tunisian pardons for political prisoners typically
occur on major national holidays. When no prisoners were
released on Tunisian Independence Day in March (Ref D),civil
society surmised that the GOT did not want to be perceived as
giving into external pressure, since there had been many
calls for Abbou's release on the March 1 two-year anniversary
of his imprisonment (Note: The USG was among those who
publicly called for Abbou's release. End Note). Abbou
opined that his release was due to diplomatic pressure, but
added that the timing had been calculated by the GOT to
suggest otherwise.

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A Welcome Surprise
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4. (C) Abbou told EmbOffs that though he received no prior
notice about his release, he did receive an unsolicited visit
by an attorney about a week before his eventual release.
This was Abbou's first visit from an attorney in over two
years; his own attorney had been denied access. Unlike all
of Abbou's other visits, this meeting was not monitored by
prison officials, which Abbou took to mean that the lawyer
was sent by the GOT. The attorney suggested that Abbou
hand-write a plea for early release. Abbou refused to agree
to any statement that indicated remorse for his actions,
which he maintains were not criminal. In the end, Abbou
signed a statement that the attorney wrote asking for early
release based on his status as head of household and medical
grounds.


5. (C) A prison official told Abbou on July 24 he was being
released, and waited in his cell while Abbou gathered his
things. Abbou called his mother-in-law to obtain his wife's
number (N.B. Samia Abbou routinely changes her cell phone
number due to police harassment and surveillance),and told
Samia he was taking a shared taxi home that evening. Samia
Abbou described his homecoming as "the gift of a lifetime,"
and was clearly overjoyed to have her family reunited. Both
Abbous noted that there has been a consistent presence of
plainclothes policemen outside their home since Abbou's
release, but said that as long as police do not harass them
or their children they could tolerate the surveillance.

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Prison Conditions
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6. (C) Abbou said he was kept in solitary confinement for
most of his incarceration. When walking down a hallway,
Abbou said prison guards made other prisoners stand and face
the wall so he could not communicate with them. On occasion,
he would be given a temporary cell-mate, but Abbou felt that
these cell-mates were GOT moles. Abbou said he never
witnessed any torture at El Kef prison, but he did hear "the
sounds of torture." These sounds stopped between October
2006 and March 2007. Without going into further detail, he
attributed the apparent cessation of torture to political
pressure.

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No Freedom of Association
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7. (C) Turning to freedom of association, Abbou expressed
his hope that civil society would one day be able to meet
freely. He opined that the laws regarding freedom of
association and expression are acceptable, but the GOT
operates outside the law to suppress these rights. Abbou
said the GOT attempts to replace the leadership of
independent organizations, blocks their registration, and
harasses them. He brought up several associations, including
the CNLT, as examples of groups that have tried to register
with the GOT but were stymied. (Note: A common tactic GOT
delaying tactic is to not issue a receipt when would-be
associations file their registration documents. An
organization is considered automatically registered three
months after their petition is filed unless the GOT denies
their application within that period. The three months
begins from the date of their receipt, given as proof of
their application having been filed. If no receipt is
issued, the petition can remain indefinitely on hold. End
note.)

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Looking Forward
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8. (C) Asked about his future plans, Abbou was enthusiastic
about returning to his law practice. His specialty is
freedom of the press, though he also alluded to examining
cases of people accused of terrorism. Abbou explained that
his time in prison had given him a new understanding of
prisoners, rights and political prisoners; it is these
people he would like to help through his law practice. Abbou
is also working on a doctorate, though ninety pages of his
thesis on freedom of the press were confiscated by prison
officials. He has registered a complaint with the prison,
but is not optimistic his papers will be returned.

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Cowardly Jihadists
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9. (C) Abbou, an attorney, indicated he had in the past
reviewed cases of Tunisians accused of terrorism. In his
opinion, Tunisians are pushed towards violent extremism
abroad due to a lack of political space in Tunisia. He was
somewhat disparaging of people who "lack (the) courage" to
stand up to the GOT or serve time in Tunisian prisons, but
are "willing to (blow themselves up) in Iraq." He
highlighted one case where the defendant wanted to become a
"jihadist" in Iraq, but was unable to cross the Syrian
border. Having returned to Tunisia, the would-be jihadist
was sentenced to eight years in prison on terrorism-related
charges. Abbou said that, according to the defendant, if the
defendant had known he was going to spend eight years in a
Tunisian prison, he would have killed himself rather than
return.

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The Politics of Critiquing Israel
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10. (C) Though Abbou has been publicly critical of Israeli
policies, he qualified that his statements had been made "as
a politician," explaining that he has to cater to his
constituency. (Note: Abbou is a member of the unregistered
opposition party Congress for the Republic. End note.) On
the situation in the Middle East, he said he believes Israel
and the Palestinian Territories should be two separate
states. He opined that as sovereign nations, the two states
could have a cooperative relationship because of their shared

history and economic ties. Abbou speculated that those who
focus exclusively on criticizing USG actions in the Middle
East are probably afraid of discussing domestic issues and
are trying to deflect criticism from the GOT and the Tunisian
public.

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Appreciation
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11. (C) Samia and Mohamed Abbou both thanked EmbOffs for
USG assistance during Abbou's incarceration. While Samia
Abbou mentioned that some people had questioned the USG's
contribution to human rights promotion in Tunisia, she said,
"I know what they have done for me." The Abbous mentioned
public statements, moral support, frequent visits by EmbOffs,
and the Embassy's interventions with the GOT over allegations
of harassment and prison conditions. Samia said that
harassment lessened after the Embassy raised the issue with
GOT officials. Abbou was open to the idea of attending
Embassy events and speaking about his experience, and said he
would appreciate the opportunity to personally thank the
Ambassador for USG support. They also acknowledged the
efforts and support of the European Union, the European
Parliament, and other embassies such as the British, German,
and the Dutch. Abbou mentioned that he would make calls on
the embassies to thank them personally, but, though others
had phoned their congratulations, the Americans were, thus
far, the only diplomats to visit personally.

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Comment
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12. (C) As a whole, attorneys in Tunisia are one of the
most active independent civil society groups pressing for
human rights and civil liberties. While in prison, Abbou was
a cause celebre for the international human rights community,
highlighting the disparity between GOT rhetoric on human
rights and its actions. With his release, Abbou could
potentially be a standard-bearer for freedom of expression.
Abbou vowed to be just as active as he was before his
incarceration, and his recent appearances on several pan-Arab
satellite TV channels lead us to believe he means what he
says. End comment.
GODEC