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The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, ANHRI, strongly condemns the assault against Hemma AlHemami, the secretary general of the Tunisian Communist party, in Tunisia airport on 29/9/2009 ,arriving from France with his wife the lawyer Radia AlNasrawy after he had had interviews with AlJazeera and France 24.

The assault from political police on AlHemami came as avenging his bitter criticism of the persecuting measures of Ben Ali’s regime ever since the latter seized control on Tunisia 22 years ago.

ANHRI stated that "this attack on AlHemami was expected as a normal consequence to anyone who dares enough to express their selves and criticize Arabic Pinochet regime. This assault is a shameful crime and the doers will be held accountable for it sooner or later".

This is not the first time that AlHemami is attacked and harassed from Tunisian police. He was tortured and imprisoned for long years. His books were burnt in public with a direct order from the minister of interior in 1996.

AlHemami and others founded "18th October Freedom Commission" before the Tunisian Information Summit. This commission, under the slogan, "Hunger but No Submission", worked on disclosing the extremely repressive autocratic nature of Ben Ali’s regime.

http://www.anhri.net/en/reports/200...