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Tunisian Human Rights Activist Freed
TUNIS, Aug 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A female Tunisian human rights activist and journalist, accused of defaming the judiciary in Tunisia, has been freed from detention, news agencies reported.
There was no immediate word from authorities concerning reasons for the release of Sihem Bensedrine, the spokeswoman for the National Council for Civil Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT), according to BBC's online service.
Bensedrine was arrested June 26th at Tunis airport as she flew in from Europe where she had taken part in a television debate on human rights.
Speaking shortly after being let free, Bensedrine said her release came as a surprise and that she was in good health despite spending six weeks in prison, the French news agency AFP reported.
She said she was "glad to be free again," and her son said his mother has reunited with her family.
"My release is the fruit of large-scale mobilization which has put pressure on those in power," she added, particularly thanking Reporters Sans Frontieres - Reporters Without Borders - for its efforts on her behalf.
Bensedrine had been held at the Manouba women's prison west of the capital on charges of "spreading false information of a nature to disturb public order" as well as those relating to defamation, according to AFP.
Bensedrine, 47, whose detention sparked an international outcry from local and international human rights groups, had taken part on June 17th in a human rights debate on al-Mustaquilla television, a satellite channel which broadcasts from London and is owned by a Tunisian opposition figure.
An unidentified examining magistrate filed a lawsuit in Tunis against Bensedrine for remarks she made during the broadcast, to the effect that they were both a personal affront and had "undermined the authority of the judiciary".
Bensedrine said she had been released only temporarily and expected to be called for trial in either October or November.
Tunisian authorities have notably been cracking down on opposition figures and human rights activists.
Earlier in July, the Tunisian Ministry of Justice officially suspended Judge Mokhtar Yahyawi in an immediate retaliatory reaction to his open criticism of President Zein el-Abedin Bin-Ali.
Yahyawi had forwarded a letter to Bin-Ali, who came to power in 1987, published July 12th in the French newspaper Le Monde, in which he openly criticized the Tunisian president, and demanded he give the judiciary its freedom and autonomy from the ruling power.
In the letter, Yahyawi severely criticized the Tunisian government's insistence on turning the judiciary into a state-controlled body.
The Ministry of Justice carried an investigation on Yahyawi on July 12th about the content of his letter, which intimated that Tunisian judges are coerced by the government into issuing verdicts that clash with the law.
Yahyawi's suspension drew criticism from the Tunisian Lawyers' Council, the Tunisian Association for Young Lawyers and many human rights groups.
Bin-Ali has ruled with a hard line, particularly against Islamic activists.
Despite introducing press freedoms and freeing some political prisoners, human rights groups have been critical of the government's treatment of its opponents.
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