Obstacles to Mr. Kamel Jendoubi's freedom of movement

Since March 2000, the Tunisian authorities refuse to grant a passport to Mr. Kamel Jendoubi, without which he cannot enter his own country. This prevented Mr. Jendoubi, former president of the Two Banks Tunisians Citizens Federation, founder of the Committee for the Respect of Freedoms and Humans right in Tunisia, and currently president of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, to attend the funeral of his father in 2004. Today, he wishes more than ever to go back to Tunisia and to visit his family and friends.

Victim of numerous calumny campaigns, he remains, without having ever been officially informed, under legal proceedings for “diffusion of false news” and “slandering of the public authorities”. These groundless charges are the only official motivation for the refusal from the Tunisian authorities.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human rights Network, the Tunisian Committee for the Restitution of Kamel Jendoubi’s Passport, the Tunisian League for Human Rights and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, remind the Tunisian authorities that freedom of movement is a fundamental freedom guaranteed by the Tunisian Constitution and the international conventions the country has ratified.

Consequently, our organizations demand the Tunisian authorities to immediately put an end to the arbitrary measures which Mr. Jendoubi is subject to, to give him a passport and guarantee his right to circulate freely inside his country.

For more information, please contact:
EMHRN : Marc Degli Esposti - + 45 32 64 17 16
OMCT : Delphine Reculeau : + 41 22 809 49 39
FIDH : Gael Grilhot : + 33 1 43 55 90 19