International freedom of expression organizations today expressed grave concern about the poor state of freedom of expression in Tunisia, host country for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) which is to be held in Tunis, November 2005. A 60-page report on the state of freedom of expression in Tunisia and the conditions for participation in the WSIS to be held in Tunis, November 2005 has been published today by the International Freedom of expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group, a group of 13 national, regional and international freedom of expression organizations. The report, released to coincide with the second Preparatory Committee for the WSIS, in Geneva 17-25 February, sets out the findings of a mission to Tunisia of freedom of expression groups. It makes a series of recommendations to the Tunisian government to bring the country in line with international human rights standards.

Tunisian authorities should stop harassing journalist and former political prisoner Abdallah Zouari, and end his banishment in the remote south of the country, Human Rights Watch said. Since Zouari completed an 11-year prison sentence in 2002, authorities have sought to silence and punish him because of his outspoken criticism of government policies, notably on human rights. Zouari has been confined to a rural district in Medenine province, 500 kilometers from his family's home in suburban Tunis, jailed three times, placed under round-the-clock police surveillance and intermittently prevented from using local Internet cafés to communicate with others. Zouari has been on a hunger strike since January 23 to protest the rejection of his numerous written requests to authorities for permission to visit his family.

A joint monitoring visit to Tunisia undertaken by members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) has found serious cause for continuing concern about the current state of freedom of expression and of civil liberties in Tunisia, including gross restrictions on freedom of the press, media, publishing and the Internet. The visit, which took place from 14 to 19 January 2005, was the first of the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group and was organised in preparation for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), a United Nations intergovernmental conference to be held in Tunis in November 2005. The purpose of the visit was to evaluate the state of freedom of expression in Tunisia and to assess the conditions for participation in the Summit.

Tunisian authorities are blocking local access to the website of the main human rights organisation in the country as well as to many other websites that focus on human rights and politics in Tunisia. The official and quasi-official media observe a complete blackout on the organization's activities and statements. Tunis is scheduled to host the U.N.-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), billed as a global discussion of the impact of the digital revolution and how best to bridge the "digital divide" between rich and poor.