[CC] Tunisian gov't arrests 20 websurfers

[George(s) Lessard]

Tunisian gov't arrests 20 websurfers

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The Tunisian government apparently is expanding its efforts to stifle 
the flow of online information.  

Authorities in the North African country have arrested 20 men who 
allegedly had visited various websites that have been deemed taboo 
by the ruling regime, including the official webpage of a banned 
Tunisian political party. They were then held for supposedly violating 
the North African nation's subversion laws. The users were taken to 
the capital, Tunis, and interrogated; the government has prevented 
family members from visiting their loved ones in detention.  

The move is being seen as yet another example of the stringent 
controls Tunisian leaders are trying to impose on the Information 
Superhighway. Several months ago, the Tunisian government had 
arrested, tortured, then imprisoned Zouhair Yahyaoui for 
republishing a letter online written by his uncle that derided the 
country's legal system. During his detainment, he has been forced to 
share a cell with 100 other inmates, and prison authorities have 
reportedly denied him medical aid even though he has been 
suffering from several serious medical ailments. The conditions of 
his confinement were so severe that Yahyaoui briefly went on a 
hunger strike-a move that failed to convince his captors to change 
their ways.  

See "Tunisian internet crackdown," BBC News Online, 18 February 
2003 at 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2777389.stm  

For more about the Yahyaoui case, click 
http://www.tunezine.com  

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