ICRC DIRECTOR SHARES CONCERNS ABOUT GOT TREATMENT

S E C R E T TUNIS 000257

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/FO, NEA/MAG (HOPKINS, HARRIS),S/WCI
(WILLIAMSON, MORRISON) AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2017
TAGS: PHUM PREL KAWC PGOV TS
SUBJECT: ICRC DIRECTOR SHARES CONCERNS ABOUT GOT TREATMENT
OF AND ACCESS TO DETAINEES AND PRISONERS

REF: TUNIS 154 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT F. GODEC FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) AND (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (S/NF) During a February 22 meeting, ICRC Regional
Director Bernard Pfefferle (strictly protect) told Ambassador
that the GOT has not granted ICRC access to Ministry of
Interior detention facilities in Tunisia, in contravention of
the 2005 GOT-ICRC agreement. Pfefferle characterized MOI
treatment of detainees as "very tough" and explained that the
MOI may detain individuals for extended periods. Pfefferle
said the ICRC systematically requests access to transferred
Guantanamo detainees in other countries and that, in Tunisia,
the ICRC has eventually been granted access to all requested
individuals. Pfefferle told Ambassador that the changing
prison population and recent security incidents may usher in
a "tough period" in GOT-ICRC relations. Pfefferle reported
that ICRC officials had noticed an additional 400 new
prisoners at a single facility since the December/January
security threat and opined that many more were likely
detained. Pfefferle's account represents the most complete
and reliable information on the prison situation in Tunisia
and the interaction between the Ministries of Interior and
Justice on detainee issues.

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MOI v. MOJ
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2. (S/NF) Pfefferle characterized the ICRC's relations with
the Ministry of Justice (MOJ),including Minister Bechir
Tekkari, as "very good." He said that some key MOJ officials
with whom he has worked for several years demonstrate a
genuine commitment to improving prison conditions in Tunisia.
Pfefferle noted that, in less than two years, the ICRC has
conducted over 3000 interviews with Tunisian prisoners
throughout the country. However, despite the fact that the
ICRC's June 2005 agreement with the GOT stipulates the ICRC
should have access to detainees at all stages of detention at
all detention facilities, Pfefferle said the Ministry of
Interior (MOI) had not granted access to MOI facilities.
Pfefferle explained that the ICRC had asked on multiple
occasions to visit the detention facility located within the
Ministry of Interior, but had yet to receive access.
Pfefferle therefore concluded that the GOT was not respecting
the access aspect of the ICRC agreement.

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TORTURE
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3. (S/NF) Ambassador asked if Pfefferle believes the GOT is
engaging in torture. While citing the confidentiality of the
ICRC agreement, Pfefferle said that the GOT has "very tough"
and "systematic" ways to get information from detainees.
Pfefferle explained that this occurs at the point of "garde a
vue," the MOI's investigation stage of detention before an
individual is transferred to the judicial system. Although
the GOT's methods are not particularly sophisticated,
Pfefferle said they include "everything you can imagine."
The ICRC has gathered this information from detainees visited
shortly after their transfer to MOJ facilities. He explained
that, although the period of "garde a vue" is limited by
Tunisian law to 48 hours, the 2003 terrorism law appears to
allow for a longer period of MOI detention. Additionally,
Pfefferle said that the 48-hour period is not respected for
those arrested for security reasons.

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GUANTANAMO
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4. (S/NF) Pfefferle volunteered that the ICRC
"systematically" requests access to individuals formerly
detained at Guantanamo Bay. In other Arab countries,
Pfefferle said that the ICRC had requested and obtained
access to former Guantanamo detainees. Ambassador asked if
the ICRC would request access to detainees returned to
Tunisia. Pfefferle confirmed that it would, and noted that
the ICRC had eventually been granted access to every specific
individual it had requested to visit in Tunisia. "Nobody

seems to disappear," concluded Pfefferle.

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CHANGING PRISON POPULATION
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5. (S/NF) Pfefferle recounted that during the ICRC's latest
visit to the new MOJ-operated Mornaguia prison facility, ICRC
officials had noticed an increase of nearly new 400 prisoners
since the December 2006/January 2007 security incidents
(reftels). Pfefferle said that he assumed a significantly
larger number had been arrested and subsequently released or
remained in MOI detention. (NOTE: Some civil society
activists have suggested more than a thousand may have been
detained. END NOTE.) Pfefferle added that he has learned
that the MOI has detained individuals at additional
facilities throughout Tunisia, in addition to the Ministry of
Interior facility, due to this increase in detentions.


6. (S/NF) He explained that the prison population in Tunisia
has changed significantly since the ICRC began work in
Tunisia. In early 2005, there were a number of former
Islamists associated with the banned an-Nahdha party who were
often referred to as political prisoners. Pfefferle said
that he believed the GOT entered into the ICRC agreement
because the highest levels of the government had decided to
begin a program to release these individuals, in part due to
the negative impact on Tunisia's image abroad. However,
since the passage of the 2003 terrorism law and several
Presidential pardons for an-Nahdha members, Pfefferle said
the face of the Tunisian prison population has changed
dramatically. Today, Pfefferle said that as many as 700 are
imprisoned under terrorism charges: two-thirds of whom were
arrested in Tunisia and one-third of whom had been extradited
from other countries. As opposed to prisoners from the
an-Nahdha wave of arrests in the 90s, the new prisoners were
much younger. (NOTE: In previous conversations, Pfefferle
has described them as more "radical." END NOTE.)

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FUTURE RELATIONS
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7. (S/NF) Pfefferle said this changing population was likely
to lead to a "tough period" in ICRC relations with the GOT.
Pfefferle explained that GOT comments and correspondence
indicate that, the GOT -- although he did not know at what
level -- may have believed, at the time it was signed, that
the ICRC agreement would end in late 2007. While the GOT now
understands the agreement is indefinite, Pfefferle said that
an upcoming ICRC report on Tunisian prison conditions is
likely to make his work in Tunisia more difficult, suggesting
the report is likely to be negative.

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COMMENT
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8. (S/NF) Pfefferle's overview of relations with the GOT and
the current prison population is the most comprehensive and
definitive information on this sensitive domestic issue we
have received. His account of the ICRC's relations with the
Ministries of Justice and Interior supports the widespread
Tunisian belief that the Ministry of Interior operates
largely independently of Tunisian law and international
obligations. While Pfefferle was careful not to use the word
"torture," Tunisian civil society has long reported that the
MOI has detained, and subsequently tortured or assaulted,
Tunisians for extended periods.
GODEC