This could happen to any of us!!

U.S.DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Spokesman

For Immediate Release March 1, 2007
2007/151

Media Note

Imprisonment of Tunisian Activist

The United States is disappointed to note that March 1, 2007, marks the two-year anniversary of the imprisonment of Tunisian activist lawyer Mohamed Abbou. Mr. Abbou was convicted in 2005 of defamation of the judicial process and assault after publishing articles on the internet critical of the Government of Tunisia. The legal processes involving his case were characterized as highly irregular by Tunisian non-governmental organizations and international observers. We urge the government to carry through on its declared intention to pursue democratic reform, including allowing greater freedom of expression and association and to release all those imprisoned for expression of free thought, including Mr. Abbou.


BEWARE: Criticizing the TN government on your blogs could get you to jail and even the government of the USA cannot get you out of it. That’s the message they keep sending to us.

I wonder what would happen if all of us decide to speak our mind on the same day on our blogs? And I know that we will all be saying things similar to what got Mr Abbou into jail since 03/2005. Will they ban our blogs? Possible, but what a bad press it would make. I imagine the title "More than 200 Tunisians blogs victim of censorship".

The question is: will they track us down and jail all of us??

PS: This press release source is Tunisia Watch RSF blog. When I tried to check it out on the US dept of state web site, I found that the title is still there, but if you click on it, it gives you a 404! How ironic isn’t it?

**(Image from Stranger's blog at http://stranger-paris.blogspot.com/)