Tunisian organisations unite against the death penalty
2007-06-15
Tunisian organisations including the League for the Defence of Human Rights and the local branch of Amnesty International have banded together against the death penalty in their country. The new alliance will petition the Tunisian government, which has not executed a prisoner since 1993, to change the law by abolishing capital punishment altogether.
By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 15/06/2007
 [Jamel Arfaoui] Human rights organizations called for the abolishment of the death penalty. |
At a press conference Thursday morning (June 14th), a gathering of Tunisian associations announced the creation of the Tunisian National Coalition for Abolition of the Death Penalty, with numerous Western diplomats in attendance. Habib Marsit, president of the Tunisian branch of Amnesty International, said, "The creation of this national coalition comes within the framework of an international alliance launched after the convening of the Paris Conference at the beginning of last February, which recommended focusing, in particular, on China and the Middle East region, which witness the highest percentage of executions."
Marsit noted that the alliance encompasses seven NGOs, including Amnesty International’s Tunisia branch, the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights, the Democratic Women’s Association, the Tunisian Journalists’ Association, the Arab Institute for Human Rights, the Tunisian Women’s Research and Development Association, and the Federation of Cinema Clubs, in addition to more than a hundred Tunisian national figures known for their defence of human rights, including lawyers, filmmakers, media figures and former ministers.
The coalition’s operating charter states that the goal of establishing the coalition is "to achieve the abolition of the death penalty from our country and to co-ordinate broad citizen mobilisation against the death penalty by addressing the authorities in our country so as to catch up with the march of nations that have abolished capital punishment". The only Arab nation that has abolished the death penalty from its legislation is Djibouti.
Since its establishment in 1961, Amnesty International has called for abolishing the death penalty against prisoners of opinion. In 1971 that call was widened to demand the abolition of capital punishment for anyone sentenced to death. In 2000, Amnesty International, in partnership with the Community of St. Egidio and Sister Helen Prejean, presented a petition with over 3 million signatures to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to abolish the death penalty entirely throughout the world.
Mokhtar Trifi, President of the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights and a member of the alliance, confirmed that the alliance’s administrative board would be formed by mutual agreement among members rather than through elections. Trifi also confirmed that the new entity does not require a legal license from the authorities, because it is formed at base from legally recognised associations and organisations. "We are not a new association or organisation, but rather a coalition including various legally-recognised organisations."
Trifi, a legal professional, asserted that the alliance would act in accordance with the legitimate and available legal frameworks. He believes the main task is to call for capital punishment to not find its way into legislation that is promulgated. "While awaiting the abolishment of the death penalty from Tunisian law," said Trifi, "we will demand that the rights ordinary prisoners receive apply to those sentenced to death."
The last execution carried out in Tunisia was in 1993, against what is known as the "butcher of Nabeul", who raped and killed a number of young children. There are no official figures on the number of persons sentenced to death in Tunisia, but independent figures suggest as many as one hundred.
According to Amnesty International statistics, in 2005, at least 2,148 people were executed in 22 nations, and at least 5,186 people were sentenced to death in 53 nations. According to sources at Amnesty International’s Tunisia branch, an Arab meeting will be held this July in Amman, Jordan to set up an Arab alliance against the death penalty and to push for its abolishment.
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YAHYAOUI Mokhtar Posted 2007-06-17
This is in regards to your article “Human rights organisations call for the abolition of the death penalty” following your other article “Tunisian organisations unite against the death penalty” and reporting on the initiative undertaken by the representatives of seven Tunisian organisations to create “The Tunisian National Coalition for the Abolition of the Death Penalty.” As president of the Tunisian Center for an Independent Judiciary (CTIJ) and co-ordinator of the International Association for the Support of the Political Prisoners (AISPP), I would like to clarify some things: 1. Our two organisations, the CTIJ and the AISPP were neither consulted about nor informed of the initiative concerning this coalition. 2. Contrary to what your article suggests, this initiative did not involve all Tunisian organisations impacted by such a coalition and cannot be considered a unified front. 3. The collective action taken by the initiators of this initiative seems to be fundamentally based on the approval of those in power, and the associations excluded from the formation of this coalition, even if not yet recognised by the government, are no less legally organised, and are directly and publicly involved in the daily defence of rights and freedoms in Tunisia. I hope that through these clarifications your readers will understand that Tunisian associations really could have formed a unified front for such an initiative if certain privileged parties did not uphold the same discriminating standards employed by the government to exclude them. –Yahyaoui Mokhtar President of the Tunisian Centre for an Independent Judiciary (CTIJ) Co-ordinator of the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners (AISPP)
Abolissons! Posted 2007-06-19
A good start. This coalition was just a preliminary step. Abolition is no longer close in all of the Maghreb! Good luck! (See the Moroccan Abolitionist blog)
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