A.HAROUNI

In the name of Allah the Merciful
and prayer and peace be upon the Sincere and Faithfull Prophet

"إن أريد إلا الإصلاح ما استطعت و ما توفيقي إلا بالله عليه توكّلت و إليه أنيب" سورة هود-الآية 88

"I only desire reform to the best of my power. And my guidance cannot come except from Allah, in Him I put my trust and unto Him I repent.'' Surat Hud-verse 88

Harassment prevention is a right and siege lift is a duty

Written by Abdelkarim Harouni

Tunisia on 1^st of June 2008 - 27 Jumada I 1429

Since I was arrested on Friday 6th of November 1987, and over 20 years deprived of safe living in my family’s home reaching eighteen years; including six months of police prosecution and the remainder imprisonment as a result of political unjust state security court judgments, in addition to civilian and military court ones, and during what remains of the 2 decades, I was exposed to security state police harassment trying to prevent me from returning to university and the students’ union but in vain. Even inside prison, I was imposed isolation for 15 years under the pretense of security requirement .A security state police pursuit, the roots of which go back to summer 1981 when I was subject to arrest and torture for the first time.

 I came out of prison on Nov. 7, 2007 from Mornaguia prison according to undeclared presidential decree that does not exceed conditional release. The day I was released, I did not return back home directly, but I was taken from prison to the nearest police station to find at my welcome, a police officer who participated in torturing me in the autumn of 1986; during the final year of Bourguiba governance that is 21 years ago in the barrack of Bouchoucha, in the capital when I was secretary-general of the Tunisian General Union of Students (U.G.T.E.). He asked me to inform the police station of my returning home and also whenever I am absent out of it "for my expression of good intention". I refused because the law of the conditional release does not stipulate it and I commented by saying: "Is the citizen required to inform the police of his movements to prove his good intention?”. So, I was arrested by the police and I was released by the police and I lived surrounded by the police over 27 years.

The day I left prison, my family welcomed me under the control of the political police and the control situation continued for a long period while I was preoccupied by receiving a large number of congratulators directly or by telephone that did not escape from control as well. After about one month, the Kram-Ouest police station invited me and then Carthage police district so I refused to because of the absence of providing official written convocation, prescribing the subject of the invitation. When being delivered the national identification card, I refused the description of "daily worker" and clung to my qualification as the high engineer or to  my situation as “kept unemployed”, but in vain. Then, the administration tried to impose on me the daily signature at the police station until Nov. 8th, 2009 in the name "administrative control" I refused because it is a procedure that the law does not prescribe, it also contradicts with the constitution, which also exceeds the authority of the administration and touches the citizen's freedom and fundamental rights, and I considered it as a social death penalty as well as an episode from a serial of slow death penalty and I publicly demanded that an end be put to this arbitrary procedure against all the released throughout the country. I also demanded that the police respect the law not to harass my family and held them responsible for the risk it might cause to my father Amor’s health, may Allah protect him, 77 years old especially after the death of my mother Saïda may Allah mercy be upon her-70 years old- in summer 2006 while I was in prison.

Police harassment continued intermittently then intensified following the General Assembly of the human rights organization Liberté & Equité (Freedom & Equity) in April and the election of its executive office, as I am one of its members in charge of the relationship with international non-governmental organizations, held under the siege that is specially happening to this organization and generally to the human rights associations and several activists, a siege aiming at obstructing their activity and intimidating their militants (men and women) and isolating them from their reality, which knows continuous degradation on the level of freedoms and political, social and cultural human rights in discordance with the official speech, and human rights movement has known in Tunisia positive developments towards supporting joint action and common positions such as Geneva manifestation  on April 7th, 5th and 23rd May 2008 press releases. On the other hand, at the occasion of the visit made to our house on 27th May, by a French philosophy professor who taught at the Sorbonne University in Paris, media and human rights activist, the political police was present on the schedule with two cars in front of our house staying during the visit until our guest’s departure, when then one of the two cars followed her; she lived herself a sample of police harassments that we live in. And on 30th May, the police car returned to camp in front of our house from the morning to nearly 10 p.m. and had already done same so many times before along with other cars, sometimes in addition to the use of a motorcycle. And I was followed when I came out with my father and my brother to the mosque for Friday prayers and then when returned home and previously, late April, accompanied with my father being closely followed even inside the Book Fair. Sometimes, it reached the extent of asking my family about my presence at home, so the response was always clear: claim the police to respect the law and private life. And even in the virtual world, that of the internet in addition to suspension of many non-governmental websites, I have been subject to interruption of several electronic correspondences, just like many opponents. All these harassments  bothered the members of my family and embarrassed their life system and relationship with their surroundings  as well and at their forefront my father, whose health does not bear such continued and overt pressure in front of  the quarter’s residents confusion; to find myself moved from isolation inside prison deprived of my rights as a prisoner to isolation inside the country deprived of my rights as a citizen with the siege continuation on my family before I was arrested, during  my imprisonment period and after my release. All this is still happening after more than 16 years of strait imprisonment and 7 months of extended imprisonment, near the tomb of my mother may Allah's mercy be on her and next to The International Exhibition Palace at the Kram, where the "World Summit of the Society of Information" was held and not very far from Carthage presidential-palace.
Such treatment was deeply resented and severely condemned by a large number of politicians and human rights defenders, journalists and ordinary citizens and from many free minds of the world, personalities and organizations and media as well many of whom expressed their support and solidarity demanding an end to be put to these illegal, inhuman and uncivilized practices, such as the Human Rights Commission of the European Parliament and the Amnesty International Agency in France.

I can not accept the persistence of this dangerous and humiliating situation nor even normalization with it for the defense of myself, my family, my people and the law. And with Allah's help, I will continue to struggle to live free, in a free people, in a free country, in a free nation and in a free world whatever the price. And at the same time, I call the authorities to lift the police siege on all the released political prisoners and their families and ensure the return of the expatriates and their families and restitution of civil, political and social  rights for all and uplift harassments both on all the human rights activists, journalists and politicians and on human rights, social and cultural organizations seats as well as on political parties in addition to mosques and enable all people and their families of their right for a passport  as a first step to ensure a minimum of basic rights and freedoms which distinguishes between the free person and the prisoner  that is the right for freedom of movement. I also invite the authorities once again to review their policy in betting on the security solution when dealing with political, human rights and social issues, which deprived the country of its people to enjoy a climate of true security, that spreads in the souls and protects the rights and dignity for all under freedom, justice and law supremacy which would help for stability and prosperity, whatever the challenges.

Abdelkarim Harouni

-Former Secretary-General of the Tunisian General Union of Students (U.G.T.E.)

-Ex-political prisoner in the case of  Nahdha Movement (Renaissance)

-Former journalist in the banned “Al Fajr” newspaper (The Dawn)

-Member of the executive office of the organization of Liberté & Equité (Freedom & Equity)