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Écrit par Administrator
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09-06-2007 |
Professor Ben Salem holds a twin-Doctorate in Physics (1976, Ph.D. thesis in General Relativity), and in Mathematics (1980, Ph.D. thesis in Differential Equations) from the university of Paris, France. He is the founder of the Mathematics Department at the University of Sfax, Tunisia, and was also a visiting Professor at the University of Maryland and the University of Michigan. He was held in the Tunisia prison for 16months without trial, from November1987 to May 1989. International human rights organizations, American and European scientific societies protested Prof. Ben Salem's detention to the Tunisian government until he was released in May 1989, but Professor Ben Salem was not allowed to resume his teaching nor to receive his salary or his passport for academic and medical purposes.
Professor Ben Salem was detained again on April 22, 1990, from giving an interview critical of human rights abuses in Tunisia to an Algerian magazine. Prof. Ben Salem accused President Ben Ali of Tunisia of condoning his torture while in detention for 16 months, and that of several other political prisoners. He alleged that torture is widespread in Tunisia jails despite the official denial. Hi cited the example of Sayyed Ben Burawi Frjani, who is still, according to report made after interview and examination by the London-based Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture on 3 January 1990, suffering from the effects of torture inflicted on him at that time. Theses included suspension in the "poulet roti" position (when the subject is trussed like a chicken, his arms held behind his knees by means of ropes and an iron bar), beatings in this position with an iron bar or plastic hose, falga (beating on the soles of the feet) with blocks of wood studded with nails, and burning with lighted cigarettes.
Prof. Ben Salem also cited the death of Mr Mohammed Mansouri in captivity under torture only three months after the accession of President Ben Ali to power. Prof. Ben Salem also enumerated the various undemocratic new laws, such as the Press Code, the law on associations, the law on political parties, and the law on mosques, which were enacted by President Ben Ali to control dissent and curb freedoms. Hundreds of Prof. Ben Salem's students, followers of the Islamic movement AN-Nahdha, were continually harassed, frequently detained, tortured, and released by the security police.
Prof. Ben Salem criticized all these developments, and said that this was not the way Tunisians wished their country to be. Tunisians are " a well educated people, deeply attached to its religion and to its basic freedoms and human rights". He warned that the policies of the new regime are going to bring chaos and instability, and emphasized that the only way out of the current crisis is a true democratic system.
In May 24, 1990, Prof. Ben Salem was sentenced to three years imprisonment. Before the Appeal court, in August6, 1990, Prof. Ben Salem refused to answer any of the court's questioning until the court admitted that he was a political prisoner being judged solely for expressing his political beliefs.
In August 28, 1990, about 5,000 people demonstrated in the heart of Tunis, the Tunisian capitol, to demand Prof. Ben Salem's immediate and unconditional release.
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Dernière mise à jour : ( 10-06-2007 )
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