Radhia Nasraoui: Ten Portraits against Torture and Impunity

Please, briefly introduce yourself.

My name is Radhia Nasraoui. I am married, with three daughters. I have been a lawyer since 1976 and in that capacity participated in the defence of victims of repression (persons on the political left, Islamists, Arab nationalists, Salafists, students, trade unionists, human rights defenders, journalists, etc.) under Bourguiba and under Ben Ali.

The task of fighting torture has been one of major importance for me, and it remains so since this practice has continued after the fall of Ben Ali and under the various subsequent governments. I helped found the Association for the Fight against Torture in Tunisia, which was established on 26 June 2003 and became the Organisation against Torture in Tunisia as of 14 January 2011.

Today, what is the biggest challenge in the fight against torture in your country? Can you take stock of the situation with regard to torture and ill-treatment in your country (the context, the extent of the problem, the types of victim and perpetrator, etc.)?

Torture continues to be practised in police stations and national guard posts, as well as in prisons, in Tunisia. Several deaths have been recorded in such cases, notably that of Abderraouf Khammassi, who died in the Charles Nicolle hospital, to which he was transferred a few hours after being arrested and where he spent 12 days in a coma.

After the departure of Ben Ali, several hundred people became the victims of torture, ill-treatment or violence at the hands of the police following demonstrations and protest movements of a social and economic or political nature. Some of them are still suffering serious physical and psychological consequences; several of them with multiple fractures of the face and burns on their arms and face.

Police violations of human rights concern both women (rape of a young woman, Myriam, last summer) and men; young people and the not so young, and even on occasion children; and common law and political prisoners. It can be said that torture is systematic and its objective is to terrorize people and induce them to cease exercising their rights and freedoms.

According to your experience, what are the root causes of torture and impunity?

If this barbaric practice continues in Tunisia after the revolution, it is because torture has always been the only method of operating for persons conducting investigations. It has also been used for decades to break down political prisoners (torture methods of a sexual character). It is not easy, therefore, for police officers and prison guards to abandon the use of torture. It should also be emphasized that impunity is the rule and those who are guilty of acts of torture are rarely arrested and tried. The main reasons for this, in my opinion, are that there has not yet been any reform of the security and justice systems, and there is no political will to put an end to torture or to restrict its use.

What is your approach and what kind of activities do you carry out to fight torture and ill-treatment in your country? Can you give us some examples of achievements linked to these activities?

Denunciation via the media of cases of torture and ill-treatment, the mobilization of national and international human rights organizations, and the organization of campaigns on behalf of the victims of torture have helped free certain political prisoners and protect others or common law prisoners against police action (acts of vengeance) or have contributed to improving their conditions of imprisonment.

What obstacles do you encounter daily when carrying out your activities?

Under the dictatorship, I was continually harassed by the political police, especially during the two decades when Ben Ali was in power. I was subjected to arrest, legal proceedings on trumped up charges, physical aggression and the surveillance of my residence. My daughters were harassed, there was a constant police presence in front of my home and office, my office was ransacked on several occasions, my car was stolen, pressure was brought to bear on my clients and the gutter press carried out a defamation campaign against me.

I was thus obliged to militate in “semi-clandestine” conditions, since the political police prevented victims from contacting me and those that managed to do so were punished and harassed. I could not turn to the press in my country nor could I organize a public event. Since the departure of the dictator, the situation has changed. The organization that I represent (the Organisation against Torture in Tunisia) has been made legal and I can now act in the open.

Do you feel threatened because of your activities? Do you face any interference in your work? If this is the case, kindly provide details

Yes, in fact, in the atmosphere of insecurity that reigns in Tunisia today, I feel threatened - all the more so because some of the practices of the dictatorship continue, such as police surveillance, the very late arrival or the interception of mail, telephone tapping, and defamation campaigns on the Internet and in the gutter press.

What needs to be done to ensure that “Nothing justifies torture” becomes a reality in your country?

Campaigns should be organized to raise public awareness of torture, the media should be used to spread a culture of human rights, and an attempt should be made to change the mentality of those who, unfortunately, consider that torture is acceptable when serious crimes have been committed.

What part does and should public opinion play in the fight against torture and what can the public do to support that fight?

I consider that the public can play an important role in eradicating torture by denouncing its practice, by supporting victims and by calling for respect for human rights and, especially, for respect for people’s physical integrity.