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afrol News, 5 September - Tunisian journalist Abdallah Zouari had a short taste of freedom. Released after 11 years in prison only in June this year, has now been sentenced to another 8 months imprisonment. Zouari refused to accept his internal exile - he had been sent to Zarzis by orders from the Interior Ministry. Abdallah Zouari, journalist of the banned Islamic fundamentalist weekly 'Al-Fajr', was sentenced on 23 August to eight months imprisonment for "failing to obey an administrative decision" exiling him to the town of Zarzis, in Mednin province. His appeal against the sentence was confirmed on 4 September. His friends and family had been barred from the trial and his lawyers withdrew from the case citing "absence of conditions for a fair trial and guarantees of independence." The French media watchdog Reporters sans frontières (RSF) - which has followed Mr Zouari's fate for several years - denounced today as "scandalous" the confirmation of the new prison sentence, recalling that he had only recently been freed after 11 years in jail. - This scandalous sentence, in complete violation of all the rules for a fair and balanced trial, is an example of how the justice system works in Tunisia, said Robert Ménard, Secretary-general of the group. - We are still waiting for proof of accusations against him in 1992, Ménard added. At this time, Mr Zouari had been accused of "making, possessing and carrying ammunition, weapons and explosives." - This man is a journalist, not a terrorist, Mr Ménard said. "The drive against terrorism since the 11 September attacks is once again being used as a excuse to clamp down on regime opponents, especially if they are Islamic fundamentalists." RSF found particularly outrageous to give a new jail sentence "to someone whose life has already been destroyed by 11 years in prison." This was "quite inhumane and we demand that he be freed immediately and unconditionally," said Ménard. Mr Zouari, who was freed on 6 June this year, had first been arrested on 12 April 1991 and the following year sentenced to 11 years in jail on the arms charges and for "belonging to an illegal organisation." He was also ordered to present himself regularly to the nearest police station for five years after his release. On 15 July this year, the Tunisian Interior Ministry told Mr Zouari, who lives in the capital, Tunis, that he was being exiled to Zarzis. He refused to comply with what he called an "arbitrary decision" and lodged an appeal, which has not yet been heard, according to information gathered by RSF. On 19 August, police arrested him in Tunis and took him to Harboub prison, in Zarzis. On 23 August, a local court gave him the eight-month sentence for disobedience. The judge refused to grant an adjournment requested by his lawyers, who said the exile to Zarzis, where only a part of his family lived, was unjustified. Hamadi Jebali, managing editor of 'Al Fajr', which is the unofficial organ of the Ennahda fundamentalist movement, has been in prison since 1991. He was sentenced in 1992 by the Tunis military court to 16 years in prison for "aggressively intending to change the nature of the state" and belonging to an illegal organisation. The previous year, he had been given a one-year sentence for publishing an article criticising the system of military courts. According to RSF's 2002 annual report, the situation of the press in Tunisia is one of the worst in the world. Opponents of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2001 still were "unable to express themselves within the country," where "pressure on opponents is intensifying." The Tunisian authorities had "not hesitated, for example, to turn on their families ... to cut Tunisians off from the world, control over all means of communication has been reinforced." Two journalists were still behind bars and a third was living underground. Sources: Based on RSF and afrol archives
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