CIAO DATE: 04/2011
October 2010
Human Rights & Human Welfare (University of Denver)
To most Americans with the exception of those few who, for whatever reason, have an attachment to the North African country of Tunisia, the name Fahem Boukadous, foreign to American ears, means nothing. It means a good deal more to "Reporters Without Borders” and to the US State Department that actually issued a statement (half way down the page) on his behalf, to the US intelligence agencies and military that have carefully followed the Spring, 2008 uprising in the Tunisian region of Gafsa–deemed the most extensive and militant social protest in that country’s history in the past quarter century. During the Gafsa protests (more, much more on this in later posts) Fahem Boukadous was there in the mining town of Redeyef at the center of the social storm, reporting for the satellite TV network El Hiwar Eltounsi on the events as they unfolded. Along with several other journalists, among them young female journalist Zakregh Dhifaoui, Boukadous was indicted on conspiracy, charges of “forming a criminal association liable to attack persons and their property,” and “disseminating information liable to disturb the public order.” Many of the trials themselves seemed fixed. For example, residing judges refused to order medical examinations for defendants who claimed they had suffered torture at the hands of the local police. In Boukadous’s case, the heart of the matter is that he was merely doing his job–reporting on the events unfolding in Redeyef without government filters. This, in the eyes of the Ben Ali regime, with its long history of repression against dissent, was enough to send Boukadous to prison.
Resource link: Tunisia–The Imprisonment of Fahem Boukadous (Part One of a series) [PDF] - 321K