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Karl Schembri
Malta’s extradition deal with Tunisia has upset international human rights organisations and Tunisian democracy activists as they insist the agreement conveniently overlooks the North African government’s human rights and civil liberty abuses.
Last week, Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg signed an extradition agreement with his Tunisian counterpart aptly called the “Minister for Justice and Human Rights”, Bechir Tekkari, who has been receiving numerous petitions from human rights organisations to release political prisoners detained without trial.
Tunisia has in fact been under attack for its repression of political dissent and free expression and Malta’s signature to this agreement is taken as a disappointing failure in recognising Tunisia’s human rights problems.
According to the agreement, suspects wanted in any one of the two countries would be liable for extradition to face a Tunisian or Maltese court.
“Why did Malta sign this agreement on a bilateral level?” a Tunisian human rights activist, insisting on his anonymity. “It’s a very bad signal to give, as an EU country, allowing extradition to a country which tortures its prisoners and which stifles freedom of expression. It is disappointing to all of us working for human rights.”
The major problems with Tunisia’s human rights record lie with the independence of the judiciary and the right to a fair trial, besides unfair and insurmountable bureaucracy in civil court proceedings.
While Tunisia has been slowly releasing long-term political prisoners lately, many others remain subjected to unfair trials. According to Amnesty International, at least 100 prisoners belonging to Islamist movement Ennahda remain unreleased since they were sentenced after unfair trials in the early 1990s.
“Some are reported to be in poor health and in urgent need of medical treatment after being tortured in pre-trial detention and subjected to harsh prison conditions, including prolonged solitary confinement, for many years,” the human rights group said.
In addition, the Tunisian authorities continue to hold some 400 prisoners under the 2003 counter-terrorism law allegedly for seeking to go to fight in Iraq.
Tunisian security forces also continue to harass and seek to intimidate local human rights defenders, lawyers and other rights activists as well as families of political prisoners and former prisoners, and to severely restrict the rights to freedom of expression and association.
Security officials are reported also to surround the home of Moncef Marzouki, leader of the Congress for the Republic, a banned opposition political party, who returned to Tunisia last October after five years of self-imposed exile in France, to prevent or deter people from visiting him.
As well, he has been reportedly charged with incitement and civil disobedience, offences punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment, for urging Tunisians to hold peaceful protests to demand greater respect for their rights in an interview with Aljazeera TV on 14 October.
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt
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