| Let's not be too hasty in settling this ... |
Human rights activist and lawyer Radhia Nasraoui, one of those fasting, told Reuters about 50 lawyers were on hunger strike at the headquarters of a lawyers' association in front of the main court in Tunis.
A Tunisian court on Tuesday imprisoned lawyer Faouzi Ben Merad for four months for "contempt of court", five days after another lawyer, Mohamed Abbou, was jailed for 3-1/2 years on charges related to Internet articles, lawyers said. "That is part of larger crackdown against lawyers. Our profession is threatened here. Lawyers are in danger because they are defending human rights, freedom and the respect of the law," Abdessalem Ben Moussa, the head of the Tunisian bar association, told reporters on Wednesday.
The authorities defended the convictions of Merad and Abbou on the grounds that lawyers should be the first to show respect for the law, court integrity and magistrates. The government-controlled Supreme Magistrates' Council criticised unidentified lawyers for "abuses and excesses at some court hearings and at the offices of investigating magistrates, which were against the lawyer's mission".
Lawyers said Merad had in recent court hearings repeatedly criticised the government for controlling the judiciary and using courts to punish its opponents. Ben Amor told Reuters that she was beaten earlier this week by three prison officials when she visited Abbou in jail, and showed a doctor's certificate saying she had suffered "violent aggression". Government officials were not immediately available for comment.
US-based Human Rights Watch and three Tunisian human rights groups said last week the government had subjected political prisoners to years of torture, rape and solitary confinement. Tunisia denies the existence of such prisoners.