10 July 2008 - WAN and the TMG have written to French President Nicolas Sarkozy asking him not to underestimate human rights violations in Tunisia as he seeks to create a Union for the Mediterranean at an EU summit meeting in Paris on 13 July. France assumed Presidency of the EU Council this month, until 31 December.. In a letter to the President, the groups write, "It is essential that France adopts and promotes a policy in accordance with the values of the Republic, by inviting the Tunisian authorities to respect their international human rights obligations, specifically those in favour of freedom of expression and the press."

9 June 2008 - At the 8th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, held in Geneva today, International PEN, the International Publishers Association (IPA), and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) made an oral submission on Tunisia on behalf of the TMG. They state, that "the only recommendation pertaining to freedom of expression, included in the Tunisia UPR report (revision of Art. 51 of the Press Code) is far from sufficient to address the multitude of problems existing in Tunisia in this field." The statement continues, "There is no evidence allowing us to welcome that there has been an ease on Internet blocking, harassment of human rights activists, or restrictions on independent journalism for instance. Once again, we urge the Tunisian authorities to encourage diversity of content and ownership of the press, to stop blocking news websites, to release ALL censored books and to allow new titles to come out."

6 May 2008 - Free expression has deteriorated in the past year in Tunisia, says the Observatory for the Freedom of Press, Publishing and Creation (OLPEC) as it marks World Press Freedom Day. "Despite intense government rhetoric in its favour, free expression remains strictly controlled and censorship is on the rise," says OLPEC. Journalist Slim Boukhdhir (below right) has been in jail since last November on trumped up charges; while websites like OLPEC's and IFEX are still blocked. To read the full report, click here.

10 April 2008 - The TMG continues to call for the release of journalist Slim Boukhdhir, and took its lobbying to the UN in Geneva this week. Boukhdhir's main "crime" appears to be independent journalism. His one-year sentenced, handed down in December, was upheld on appeal on 3 April.

On 8 April in Geneva, the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR)  reviewed submissions on Tunisia sent on behalf of the TMG by International PEN, the International Publisher's Association (IPA), and the World Press Freedom Committee. Since NGOs were not allowed to take the floor during the UPR, Swiss-based Tunisian NGOs organised a meeting against torture in Geneva on 7 April, co-sponsored by the TMG. At the event attended by approximately 100 people, two films on torture were screened, one of which was made by CNLT. Tunisian human rights activists, including Sihem Bensedrine of OLPEC, also made presentations, which "underlined the wide recourse to torture used by security forces and police in Tunisia, and the total impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators," reported Alexis Krikorian of IPA. See the UPR submissions on Tunisia at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/PAGES/TNSession1.aspx.

2 April 2008 - OLPEC welcomes the release of Tunisian comedian Hédi Ouled Baballah on 20 March 2008 on the occasion of the 52nd anniversary of the country's independence. The comedian received a conditional release after two months' imprisonment. The TMG called for Baballah's release after he was jailed in February. The Tunisian comedian was charged and jailed on the basis of suspect evidence, which appeared to be a punishment for mimicking the country's president. The trigger seems to have been a private recording of his satirical imitation of President Ben Ali, which spread across the country by mobile phone. (Listen to it at: http://www.archive.org/details/HdiOuledBaballah.)
(Photo: Kalima)