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)

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Summary
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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.

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Hunger Strike Temporarily Suspended
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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.

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Hunger Strikers Report Harassment
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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.

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Background
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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.

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Comment
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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