GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS: ATTORNEY GAINS RIGHT TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001555 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA/MAG (HOPKINS/HARRIS); DRL (JOHNSTONE/KLARMAN) LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO TS SUBJECT: GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS: ATTORNEY GAINS RIGHT TO TRAVEL, JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR REF: A. TUNIS 1486 ¶B. TUNIS 1525 Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On December 4, a Tunisian court sentenced ex-hunger striker Slim Boukhdhir to a year in prison. Boukhdhir was initially arrested November 26 on charges of insulting a police officer, using foul language, and not presenting his national ID card to security officials (Ref B). Meanwhile, fellow hunger striker Mohamed Nouri received good news November 27 when the Tunis Court of Appeals lifted his court imposed travel ban. Nouri, along with six other attorneys, represented Boukhdhir at his December 4 trial. His attorneys argued that his case was politically motivated, and added that Boukhdhir should be found not guilty due to procedural flaws in his arrest. PolOff attended Boukhdhir's trial and sentencing, as did representatives from Amnesty International, the unauthorized human rights NGO National Council for Liberty and Labor (CNLT),and the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate. End summary. -------------- One Hunger Striker Wins Right To Travel -------------- ¶2. (C) Hunger striker Mohamed Nouri received good news on November 27 when the Tunis Court of Appeals lifted his court imposed travel ban. Attorney Mohamed Nouri, along with journalist Slim Boukhdhir, conducted a hunger strike November 1-14 to protest GOT travel restrictions. They suspended the strike to pursue negotiations with GOT representatives (Ref A). Nouri and Boukhdhir had decided to resume their hunger strike after a week passed without action by the GOT, but the November 27 court decision seems to indicate that negotiations were ultimately successful, at least for Nouri. He told PolOff December 4 that he is routinely invited to a number of international conferences, and plans to travel "as soon as possible." -------------- Other Hunger Striker Arrested and Sentenced -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Nouri's fellow hunger striker Slim Boukhdhir was tried in Sakiet Ezzit (three hours from Tunis) December 4 on charges of insulting a police officer, using foul language, and not presenting his national ID card to security officials (Ref B). He was arrested at 4:30 AM on November 26 en route to Tunis from Sfax. Boukhdhir, 39, is a correspondent for al-Arabiya and contributes to other international publications after being fired from his job at a local newspaper in 2005. The charges carried a combined maximum penalty of 18 months in prison. -------------- The Trial -------------- ¶4. (C) Boukhdhir was represented by seven attorneys during his trial, including Abdel Wahab Maattar, Mohamed Abbou, Mohamed Nouri, Radia Nasraoui, and Abderraouf Ayadi. Fourteen police officers were also present during the trial, ten of whom entered when Boukhdhir was brought into the court and stayed for the duration of the trial. After an initial delay (to give all of Boukhdhir's attorneys time to arrive), Judge Hatem Ouerda questioned Boukhdhir to ascertain Boukhdhir's version of his arrest. Boukhdhir appeared to be in good health, and answered the judge's questions without difficulty. He told the judge that he had not produced his national ID card because he was afraid police officers would confiscate it. He denied having used insulting or vulgar language towards the officers. After Boukhdhir's testimony, his attorneys made arguments on his behalf. Several opined that Boukhdhir's trial was politically motivated. As proof, they cited the fact that when he was questioned by police, the interrogation did not focus on the alleged actions leading to the charges against Boukhdhir, but on his political activities. Boukhdhir was reportedly called an "American spy" by police officers, questioned about an article he wrote for the opposition website Tunisnews, and interrogated about his recent hunger strike protesting GOT travel restrictions. ¶5. (C) Boukhdhir's attorneys also focused on procedural irregularities in the case. For example, according to the paperwork, the case against Boukhdhir was opened before he was arrested. In addition, the two witnesses did not sign their statements and were not made to swear to tell the truth, which should invalidate their testimony. Witness testimony (which stated that there were multiple officers present during the arrest) contradicted the arresting officer's report (which said there were only two officers present). Boukhdhir's attorneys said this supported Boukhdhir's claim that we was being constantly followed by plainclothes policemen for several days before his arrest. They also noted that the police officer who filed the complaint against Boukhdhir is the same one who interrogated him, which the attorneys said is a violation of article twelve of the Criminal Code. ¶6. (C) PolOff attended Boukhdhir's December 4 trial and sentencing, as did representatives from Amnesty International, the unauthorized human rights NGO National Council for Liberty and Labor (CNLT),and the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate. The presiding judge was mostly attentive during the roughly two hour long proceedings. He returned with a verdict about ten minutes after the defense rested its case. Ouerda sentenced Boukhdhir to eight months for insulting a police officer, four months for using foul language, and a fine of 5 TD (4 USD) for failing to produce his national ID card. His attorneys have ten days to appeal (which they say they will do). Boukhdhir remains in police custody, pending the outcome of his appeal. -------------- Unusual Punishment? -------------- ¶7. (C) When Nouri was asked for his opinion as to why his travel ban was lifted while his fellow hunger striker was arrested, Nouri opined that the charges against Boukhdhir probably stem from his articles accusing President Ben Ali's family of corruption, which put Boukhdhir "in a different category." Attorney Mohamed Abbou opined that Boukhdhir's unusually harsh sentencing was indicative of a political prosecution, as the normal sentence for charges such as Boukhdhir's is two or three months in prison. Boukhdhir's case has already attracted significant international criticism. Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, the International Federation of Journalists, and the International Freedom of Expression eXchange all released statements condemning Boukhdhir's conviction. Reporters Without Borders echoed Nouri's sentiment in a December 4 press release which stated, "Tunisian journalists are often jailed on grounds unrelated to their work so that the authorities cannot be accused of censorship." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) We will continue to follow the appeals process, but in similar civil society cases such appeals were rarely successful. There were indications that this was not an arbitrary arrest, as Boukhdhir was singled out for questioning, and his interrogation focused on his articles for the opposition press. Given Boukhdhir,s long history of problems with the GOT, it is unlikely his sentencing is the result of a simple infraction of the law. End Comment. GODEC