Tunisia

[Petronas]

Tunisian body slams defense of individuals convicted of terrorism
First Published 2005-02-21, Last Updated 2005-02-21 10:41:26

GENEVA - A Tunisian organization dedicated to defending the rights of terrorism victims criticized today as "a bit hasty" and "ill-advised" the positions taken by certain human rights activists in defense of a group of individuals arrested after having downloaded material from the internet as part of a conspiracy to commit terrorist acts. "As an organization dedicated to the rights of terrorism victims, we see this expression of support as a bit hasty," said the Tunisian association for terrorism victims in a statement issued in Geneva. It added, "the defendants have of course the right to all the legal guarantees under Tunisian law. But certain elements in the case are truly disturbing and should convince all parties interested in the case to be more cautious."

Members of the group, known as "the Zarzis group" were tried and sentenced last year on charges of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism in the southern Tunisian city of Zarzis. Tunisia has unwaveringly taken a rigorous stand against terrorism.

The Tunisian association for terrorism victims cited among the "disturbing" facts of the case the fact that "investigators in Tunisia have pointed out that members of the so-called "Zarzis group" have sought support abroad from the "Al-Qaeda" terrorist organization and also attempted to smuggle weapons into the Tunisia to commit acts of terrorism. By the time they were arrested, members of the group had already started manufacturing and storing explosives. They planned rocket attacks against a local secondary school and National Guard station, and were found in possession of files downloaded from the Internet regarding the manufacture and use of bombs, explosives, gun-silencers and combat munitions.

"By arresting members of this group, the Tunisian authorities might have pre-empted a tragedy and prevented another casualty toll," stressed the organization. "A more socially-responsible attitude would be to discuss the means of preventing terrorist behavior and clearly denounce all forms of extremism and hate-mongering which lead to terrorism. The rights of all societies and human beings to life and safety require us all to do our share in this regard," added the statement.

Although certain activists have taken up the case of "Zarzis group" as a case of individuals "with no crime except trying to access the Internet," a number of human rights organizations have taken a more cautious attitude on the issue and have abstained from defending members of the group. The Tunisian organization issued the statement in Geneva where is taking place the preparatory meeting for the world summit on the information society (WSIS) scheduled in Tunisia next November.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=12757

[Petronas]

Tunisia (Country threat level - 3): A previously unknown organization calling itself Jihadi Jund al-Islam Group has posted a statement on an Islamist Website threatening a wave of bombings against foreign embassies in Tunis in order to block a possible visit by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the country in November 2005. The authenticity of the statement has not been verified. Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has invited Sharon to attend a scientific conference in Tunis in November 2005. The decision gave rise to an attempt to stage a protest in Tunis on 4 March, but police officials intervened to break up the gathering.

AIR SECURITY International - HOT SPOTS 3/14/2005

[Petronas]

Tunisia arrests ‘bad joker’
Last Updated 2005-03-16 14:06:17

TUNIS - A Tunisian man was arrested for making threats on an Internet web site to launch a campaign of bombings and attacks in response to an unprecedented invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to visit the country, according to the official Tunisian news agency TAP. The arrested man, who wasn't identified, had published on a Web site under the name of a fictitious organization, a statement threatening to use booby-trapped cars for bomb attacks against foreign embassies in Tunisia, the TAP reported late Tuesday.

The investigation into the Internet message posted Monday led to the discovery of the suspected author, described as a "bad joker," and given the gravity of the threatened criminal acts the man was arrested, the news agency said. Tunisian President Zine El Abidin Ben Ali last month addressed an unprecedented invitation to Sharon to attend a conference on scientific cooperation in November. Israel and Tunisia closed their countries' special interest bureaux more than four years ago, after the start of the Palestinian intifada, or uprising. The invitation to Sharon triggered street protests in Tunisia which were repressed by police, drawing criticism from international human rights groups.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=12998

[Petronas]

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This information is current as of today, Thu Apr 21 11:45:39 2005.

Tunisia
April 19, 2005

This Public Announcement is being issued to alert Americans to the potential for terrorist actions in Tunisia. This Public Announcement expires on July 19, 2005.

The United States Government has strong indications that individuals may be planning imminent terrorist actions in Tunisia. We have no further information on specific targets, timing, or method of attack, or capabilities of these individuals.

In the past, terrorists have not distinguished between official and civilian targets. As always, we take this information seriously. Terrorist attacks may occur on or around dates of religious significance, such as the Moulid holiday in the third week of April. U.S. Government facilities remain at a heightened state of alert. Americans in Tunisia are urged to remain vigilant with regard to their personal security and to exercise caution.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_2258.html

[Petronas]

Jailed Extremists Pardoned in Tunisia
February 28, 2006

On Monday, February 27, Tunisian President Zine Abidine Ben Ali released over 1,600 prisoners by official pardon—some 70 of them considered to be Islamists from the outlawed al-Nahda (awakening) movement—many of whom had been jailed on terrorism-related charges (http://www.akhbar.tn, February 26).

Nearly 1,300 of the prisoners were released unconditionally, while 359 others were released on unspecified conditions. The government statement announcing the release also mentioned that 260 of the freed prisoners were released under special conditions that they report to the government and take other unspecified measures to ensure that they do not re-offend (Radio Tunis, February 26).

The Tunisian government did not provide the identities of all those released. Unnamed sources within the government confirmed that these 260 were mainly from al-Nahda (al-Hayat, February 25). Military and civilian courts had previously sentenced 100 leaders and senior members from the movement to lengthy sentences, many of them life-terms.

Al-Nahda was established and is led by Rachid Ghannouchi, a former leader of al-Jamaa'a al-Islamiyya (the Islamic Group), and then the Islamic Tendency Movement, which later became al-Nahda. Ghannouchi serves as the chairman of al-Nahda from London, where he has been living as a political refugee since 1991. He has been sentenced to life in absentia on multiple occasions by Tunisian courts. While using language favorable to supporters of democracy and liberalization, Ghannouchi firmly intends to establish an Islamic republic in Tunisia.

In addition, al-Nahda has received funding from al-Taqwa Bank—the financing group run by Idris Nasreddin that has been named as a financier of terrorism by the U.S. and UN.

A statement on the al-Nahda website (http://www.nahdha.net) said that 75 of their members were among the released prisoners. Another statement on their website provided telephone numbers of some of the released prisoners, "for those brothers who wish to send them [the freed prisoners] congratulations"—an indication of a grass-roots nature to their movement.

They also issued a separate release on the fate of another group, "the Internet Prisoners"—a group of youth from the southern city of Zarzis. The al-Nahda statement said that the group was released two days after the others, without any comment on the delay or quiet release. The youth were sentenced last year to sentences ranging from 10-30 years for visiting banned Islamist websites (al-Hayat, February 25).

It appears that al-Nahda intends to mobilize Tunisians following the pardon to gain support for political expression in Tunisia and to pressure the government for reforms. This may be a legitimate cause of concern for growing extremism in Tunisia, however, as many analysts have tied the group to radical Islamist groups in the Middle East.

President Ben Ali has repeatedly stated that he fears al-Qaeda and other like-minded extremist groups are trying to gain a foothold in Tunisia. Yet, the motives behind this move to release previously-considered extremists are not entirely clear.

One possibility is that Ben Ali believes al-Nahda and their sympathizers are weaker— and that he is ultimately better off—by his move to pardon the prisoners, many of whom were considered political prisoners both domestically and internationally. Of greater importance than this, however, is external pressure from the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Tunisia as part of a North African tour on February 11. He said Tunisia had been a constructive partner in the campaign against global terrorism and that he did not believe the country was at great risk for al-Qaeda to take up roots.

Yet, a senior official traveling with Rumsfeld told the Washington Post, "As with Egypt, we're nudging Tunisia to be creative and reform-minded, and it's delicate."

The comments—along with the speech Rumsfeld delivered at the Council on Foreign Relations in which he admitted to falling behind in the media war—seem to indicate a shift in U.S. policy toward allies in the war on terrorism (see "Internet Mujahideen React to Rumsfeld's Recent CFR Speech," by Stephen Ulph in Terrorism Focus, Volume 3, Issue 7). In the larger picture, it is quite possible that the Pentagon now believes that tyrannical political climates serve jihadi recruiters, and are ultimately counter-productive for combating terrorism.

Ben Ali's pardon is the most significant step toward openness in Tunisia in the last ten years. In doing so, he is gambling that the potential instability generated from the release of these prisoners is outweighed by the effects of the pardon. For the decades under Ben Ali's rule, human rights organizations have strongly criticized his clampdown on freedom of expression in Tunisia. Moreover, while Tunisia's prosperity and stability in relation to other Middle Eastern countries has allowed the system to stay in place, Ben Ali's move to release the prisoners may be in response to a growing discontentment with the status quo.

There has not been any significant violence in Tunisia since al-Qaeda members carried out a suicide bombing in 2002 at a synagogue on the resort island of Djerba that killed 14 people, most of them German tourists. It may be that the momentum Ben Ali gained from that incident has died out, or that he is acting in response to U.S. pressure to reform. Yet in either scenario, if greater numbers of Tunisians—youth in particular—are now able to access more information from the Internet, something must compete with jihadi-themed websites if Tunisia is to keep extremism at bay.

http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2369914

[Vancouver]

A couple of shootouts between government forces and some unidentified group.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/01/03/tunisia.firefight.ap/index.html
This Swiss item in Arabic quotes Reuters to say that 25 "dangerous criminals" were killed on 4 January.
http://www.swissinfo.org/ara/international/ticker/detail.html?siteSect=143&sid=7399122&cKey=1167846316000
The gang, whoever they are, seem to have been in orange groves southeast of Tunis. The Palestinians have often used orchards to conceal people firing rockets.

[Petronas]

Tunisia (Country threat level - 3): In a statement posted on 8 January 2007 on an Islamic Web site, the Youth of Tawhid and Jihad in Tunisia (Monotheism and Holy War) -- a militant group not previously present to Tunisia -- vowed to fight against Tunisia's president in response to an official ban on women wearing head scarves in public buildings. The statement reads in part: "The faithful youth of Tunisia have declared jihad (holy war) and fighting against the despot to stop his harm to the Muslims in general and the veiled Muslim women in particular." The statement also suggested that the group was involved in a gunbattle on 3 January with Tunisian authorities in the town of Soliman, some 24 mi/40 km south of Tunis, the capital. The incident, which led to the killing of 12 alleged criminals and the arrests of 15 others, was the second within weeks in the North African country where such violence is unusual. Two officers were injured and two alleged gang members were arrested in a similar incident on 23 December in the Tunis suburb of Hammam-lif. Tunisian authorities have played down both incidents and said the victims were part of a criminal gang and not a militant group. Some news reports, however, suggested the opposite.

The name Tawhid and Jihad has been used by militant groups in several countries where there are sympathies for the al-Qaeda terror network. The name was initially used by the group al-Qaeda in Iraq.

http://www.asigroup.com/HOTSPOTS.asp

[Vancouver]

About the gunfight on 3 January:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243358,00.html
Excerpt: "TUNIS, Tunisia — Islamic extremists involved in a deadly fire fight with police this month had blueprints of foreign embassies and documents naming foreign envoys, Tunisia's official news agency quoted the interior minister as saying Friday."
Previously this group was described as "criminals".

Edit: Also
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6257129.stm

[Petronas]

Suspected terrorists get 24-year sentences in Tunisia
Tuesday, March 27, 2007

A Tunisian court sentenced 18 suspected Islamist radicals to up to 24 years in prison yesterday after finding them guilty of plotting terrorist attacks, lawyers and judicial sources said.

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2007/0327/1174528657497.html