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)

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Summary
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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.

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One Hunger Striker Wins Right To Travel
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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."

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Other Hunger Striker Arrested and Sentenced
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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.

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The Trial
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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.

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Unusual Punishment?
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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."

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Comment
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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