Defence cries foul as Ben Brik verdict nears
2009-11-23
Journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, facing what his defenders claim are politically motivated charges stemming from his criticism of Tunisian government, will learn his fate this week.
By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 23/11/09
 [Arthur Herbulot/AFP/Getty Images] Reporters without Borders protesters in Paris hold a sign reading "Tunisia: muzzled press, imprisoned journalists" to fight press censorship. |
A Tunisian court will hand down a verdict this week in the case of controversial journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, amidst claims that the trial is politically motivated and legally flawed.
The trial of Ben Brik, who was arrested October 30th on charges of violating public decency, defamation, assault and damaging private property, wrapped up on November 19th.
The court will hand down its verdict on Thursday (November 26th), but according to the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LTDH), "this trial lacked the necessary minimum guarantees for journalist Ben Brik to defend himself, and we consider it to be just the [superficial appearance] of a trial that actually lacked all the necessary elements of a fair trial".
In a statement issued the day the trial ended, the LTDH called on Tunisian authorities to stop the proceedings, "which damage the image of the country and the reputation of its judiciary because of serious violations of human rights and defendant's rights".
Ben Brik's defence team also released a statement, signed by the head of Tunisia's bar association, Bechir Al Sayd, in which they denounced what they called the "political nature of this trial and the insistence on keeping [Ben Brik] in prison despite ... the trumped-up nature of this case".
"This journalist was imprisoned in a fabricated case aimed at intimidating the free voices and human rights activists," French lawyer William Bourdon told Reuters on November 19th.
But according to Tunisian Minister of Justice Bechir Tekkari, Ben Brik "is being tried because he assaulted a woman who filed a complaint that was supported by witnesses and a medical report, and this has nothing to do with any official entities".
"When a journalist commits an act that disturbs public order and undermines people's security, his journalistic capacity will not exempt him from legal proceedings," Tekkari said at a November 6th press conference.
Both the LTDH and defence team statements called for the immediate release of Ben Brik. The defendant, who also goes by the last name Zaghlami, maintains that the trial aims to punish him for articles published in several French media outlets during Tunisia's recent elections.
A lawyer representing the plaintiff, Abdel Raouf Bazaoui, on November 19th publicly rebutted the defence team's interpretations of the case, calling his client an "ordinary citizen who has nothing to do with political disputes".
Last week, Bazaoui opposed a defence team petition for more time to prepare its case. The judge's rejection of that request, coupled with alleged moves to block the arrival in Tunisia of international members of the defence team, have fuelled allegations of government interference.
For her part, plaintiff Rim Nasraoui last week denied claims that she was recruited by the police to frame Ben Brik and send him to prison for his criticism of the Tunisian government.
"I've got nothing to do with politics, and the accusations that the police recruited me to set up Ben Brik are completely unfounded," Nasraoui, 28, told the press last week. "It's just an attempt by Ben Brik to evade responsibility for his crimes."
Beyond their concerns about the legal aspects of Ben Brik's trial, the defence team and international rights groups have expressed worries about the chronically ill defendant's access to medicines and accessibility to visitors.
However, Tekkari told press conference participants that Ben Brik was being "visited by members of his family", adding that the journalist "is not suffering from any health problems".
The Ben Brik case has also spurred a diplomatic spat, with Tunisia indirectly rebuking France's expression of "concern" about the trial. France's official preoccupation with the case has been shared by the country's Socialist and Green parties, as well as by international rights groups such as Reporters Without Borders. RSF head Jean-François Julliard and a member of the European Parliament concerned with human rights issues attended Ben Brik's hearing.
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Anonymous Posted 2009-11-23
Fortunately, Mr Tekkari is not only minister of (in)justice, but also of human rights. You can easily see the conclusion he has drawn even before the verdict is handed down when he says, “when a journalist commits an act”, and not “when a journalist is accused of an act”. Your “judicial system” inspires confidence, Tekkari. This affair stinks. It is nauseating and typical of a regime that shames the Tunisians. For years, defenders of human rights in Tunisia like the lawyer Radhia Nasraoui and the journalist Sihème Ben Sedrine have been victims of physical attacks, burglary and the destruction of their property without the culprits ever being found. Dozens of other human rights defenders and democrats in Tunisia have faced the same fate. The thugs guilty of these acts of vandalism still remain unknown. In the case of Ben Brik, the judicial system is functioning miraculously, with witness coming out of the woodwork, the police suddenly being present and the courts, known for their lethargy and their bureaucracy – not to mention their corruption – are finally ready to give their verdict. After such an electoral masquerade, the Tunisians now have the right to a judicial masquerade. What good publicity for the country!
penseretagir Posted 2009-11-24
According to an AFP report picked up by France-24 and several websites, Ben Brik is also accused of an assault on a French Tunisian in 2004 in Paris. This case is to be tried in January. This is one heck of a coincidence: two cases of the same type in two different countries!? Could this also be a trap set by the French judicial system too??? This should be followed up on. We must face the evidence that things are being manipulated and the French media’s blindness to this is making an opposition hero of a person known for his verbal excesses and his inconsistencies. Have you read his book, “The Laughter of the Whale”, published in 2000? In it, he speaks of his violence against his wife, his contempt for his own children and his immoderate taste for women, including the wife of Nicolas Beau, the journalist who lived with him for a short time. (See p. 184 – I am not making this up!!!) Even Robert Menard, a former RSF staffer, completely gave up on him and confirmed everything in his books: “We want to silence these journalists.” (p. 22)
Anonymous Posted 2009-11-24
I have some remarks regarding the comment from ‘penseretagir’: It is clear that the author is not fond of Ben Brik, but I wonder if he has ever heard of ethics or etiquette? The rule is that you do not kick an enemy who is down. Ben Brik is now languishing in the jail of a dictator with a poor international reputation thanks to his violations of human rights and his corruption. The balance of power is not in Ben Brik’s favour. Moreover, the deeds related by the author are not complete: according to the AFP dispatch, the woman in question is Tunisian and she travelled with him from Tunis to Paris. She went to the hotel with him, then left the hotel and filed a charge against him. According to the same dispatch, Ben Brik’s French lawyer qualified this story as preposterous and said the charge of rape was dismissed by the French police. The lawyer also said that this story was a trap. Whatever this story may be, it has nothing to do with the charges against Ben Brik at this time. Why cite Robert Ménard and Nicolas Beau without mentioning that they were deported from Tunisia when they came on work? What was this “transparent” regime, as its head calls it, afraid of? Why were Nicolas Beau’s two excellent works on Tunisia, “Our Friend, Ben Ali” and the “Regent of Carthage”, banned in Tunisia? Robert Ménard is internationally known for his defence of the freedom of information, which earned him his choice place on Tunisian regime’s persona non grata blacklist. So, if this gentlemen is not to be mixed with, why is a representative of the Tunisian Ministry of (Dis)Information citing him as a witness in the charges against Ben Brik?
lellapitre Posted 2009-11-26
There are the dirty tricks and conspiring of Ben Ali and his thugs against any voice that dares to say in a long and loud voice what the Tunisians think. Down with him and his nauseating government. The end is known and predictable. We Tunisians have been suffering in silence from these acts for 20 years. When a president kills people and imprisons anyone who dares to think differently than him, he is no longer a president; he is a catastrophe. Ben Ali, his family and the RCD are not Tunisia; they are colonisers. We need to resist these people who colonise us just like Ben Brik did. We must resist them like him.
Anonymous Posted 2009-11-26
Dear translator, it is not Ben Ali's French lawyer but Ben Brik's French lawyer. Ben Ali has other wishes for Ben Brik than securing his defense.
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