HUNGER STRIKE TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001486 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA/MAG (HOPKINS/HARRIS); DRL (JOHNSTONE) LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO TS SUBJECT: HUNGER STRIKE TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED REF: A. TUNIS 1454 ¶B. TUNIS 1404 Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Mohamed Nouri and Slim Boukhdhir announced during a November 14 press conference that they would temporarily suspend their strike while negotiations with ruling party representatives took place. They also told PolOff that their families have been harassed as a result of their campaign. While civil society has been supportive of the hunger strikers, there has also been criticism that the strike was poorly timed. Other activists encouraged the protestors to temporarily suspend their hunger strike, in the hopes of encouraging a resolution. End Summary. -------------- Hunger Strike Temporarily Suspended -------------- ¶2. (C) Hunger strikers Slim Boukhdhir and Mohamed Nouri announced during a November 14 press conference that they had decided to temporarily suspend their protest which began November 1. Boukhdhir said the suspension will likely last until November 17 or 18. The hunger strikers are in talks with the ruling Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD) party attorneys who are acting as a liaison between the hunger strikers and GOT officials. Boukhdhir characterized his initial conversation with the attorneys as positive, and said the attorneys were optimistic that a resolution would soon be found. Boukhdhir has returned to his home in Tunis (the hunger strike was taking place in Nouri's office),but emphasized the strike will resume if he and Nouri feel that progress towards a solution is not being made. ¶3. (C) The decision to suspend the strike came about after several members of the October 18 movement (an alliance of disparate human rights and political activists that includes moderate Islamists, Ref C) wrote a letter to the hunger strikers urging them to temporarily suspend the hunger strike in order to prompt a resolution. PDP head Nejib Chebbi told the hunger strikers and PolOff on November 14 that he was visiting to reinforce this message. Chebbi alluded to having heard information that prompted his belief that if the hunger strike was suspended, there is a good chance of a resolution. Since the hunger strike began, there have been two one-day solidarity hunger strikes for Nouri and Boukhdhir (on November 7 and 12) by various activists including members of the banned An-Nahdha political party. -------------- Hunger Strikers Report Harassment -------------- ¶4. (C) On November 14, Nouri and Boukhdhir told PolOff their families have been harassed since the hunger strike began on November 1. According to Boukhdhir, police arrested his brother Anis Boukhdhir and released him two days later. Anis Boukhdhir was arrested on charges stemming from a five year old court case against him involving a traffic accident. He was convicted in absentia, and was unaware of the ruling. Slim Boukhdhir contends that the motivation behind the detention was to pressure Slim into ending the hunger strike. Nouri said that on November 11, plainclothes policemen severely beat his son, Lassaad Nouri, as he attempted to visit his father's office. Lassaad was taken to the hospital and released, but according to Mr. and Mrs. Nouri, has a fractured orbital socket. He requires on-going medical attention, and it is unknown if he will retain the use of his eye. -------------- Background -------------- ¶5. (C) Four years ago, Tunisian courts imposed a travel ban on attorney Mohamed Nouri, stemming from an ongoing investigation in a defamation case against him (Ref A). Boukhdhir says his inability to obtain a passport, despite multiple attempts over the last three years, is the result of a political decision to deny him the right to travel because of his political activism (Boukhdir, a journalist, routinely writes articles for foreign and online publications critical of the GOT). Boukhdhir last attempted to apply for a passport on October 24. He says he was told by officials that, "It is not personal," but that they had instructions not to accept his passport application. Nouri challenged his travel restriction in court on October 31, but a judge upheld the ban. Boukhdhir and Nouri acknowledged the drastic nature of a hunger strike, but said that felt they had no other options. Boukhdhir has since sent a new passport application by mail, and Nouri has appealed the judge,s decision in his case. Though their respective cases remain pending, both feel their cases could be quickly resolved if the GOT were to make a decision to do so. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) We will continue to monitor the situation. It is in both the GOT's and the hunger striker's interests that a solution be found quickly, and we hope the goodwill gesture of suspending the strike for negotiations will prompt a resolution. Though this hunger strike comes soon after the conclusion of another, it does not seem likely that it will be followed by a third. Civil society activists seem to have reached the conclusion among themselves that hunger strikes are best left for dire circumstances, hence their encouragement that Nouri and Boukhdhir temporarily suspend their strike. End Comment. GODEC