After the jump is a press release (in French) by Tunisian rights activist Sihem Bensedrine on the release of comic Hedi Ouled Baballah, who recently spent two months in prison for cannabis possession. It’s widely believed by Tunisian NGOs that the real reason for his imprisonment (and the beatings he received at the hands of [...]

For a lazy Sunday:

Egypt’s Coptic Pope needs more time in hospital: church - Baba Shenouda continues to be seriously ill
The crescent and the cross - FT review destroys “Eurabia” books
What’s Behind the Reversal of Tunisia Hijab Ban? - A look at a recent court decision to reverse longstanding ban
When the bikini line turned to a [...]

From Tunisian magazine L’Audace:
Souha Arafat n’a cessé de se plaindre ces derniers mois d’avoir été trompée par Leïla en opérant divers placements à la Bourse de Tunis qui se sont avérés infructueux. De son côté, Leïla reprochait à sa partenaire en affaires de lui avoir mal conseillé certains placements à l’étranger. Leur idylle avait pourtant [...]

Kamel Labidi calls for Western states to walk the walk and urge Ben Ali not to run again in 2009:
Tunisian democracy: To hope or despair?
The policy of repression, compounded by confiscation of public property and murky privatization deals by Ben Ali’s relatives and cronies, has prompted many Tunisians to take steps publicly to help stop [...]

Tunisian Internet editor to stand trial:
New York, August 1, 2007— The managing editor of a Tunisian online magazine is due to appear in court in Tunis on August 2 on charges of defamation that could lead to his imprisonment for up to three-and-a-half years, according to one of his lawyers.
The charges against Tunisian rights activist [...]

Tunisian intellectual Taoufik ben Brik writes on how the Ben Ali regime has emptied Tunis of its very soul and verve. A deeply sad recollection of better times for someone like me that has only known the current, dreadfully mournful and oppressive Tunis. Tunisians might inform me whether it is, as it appears, a barely [...]

The great Moroccan magazine Le Journal Hebdomadaire (which recently lost its editor-in-chief, Abou Bakr Jamai, a fact that saddens me deeply and on which I will write about at a later point) is one of the few publications on the planet — that’s no exaggeration — that will publish long, critical pieces on the Tunisian [...]

Our friend Kamel Labidi had an op-ed a few days ago in the Daily Star about the clashes last took place in December between Tunisian security forces and Islamists probably associated with the Groupe Salafiste pour le Combat et la Predication of Algeria. If you’ve followed this story you will remember that there was a [...]

The following is a translation of a message by Tunisian rights activist Moncef Marzouki, sent to me by my friend (exiled Tunisian activist) Kamel Labidi:
Communiqué
On 14 October, I appeared on Al Jazeera to discuss the situation of complete deadlock in which Tunisia has been for years, under the ruthless grip of an ever-worsening police state. [...]

There’s a fascinating post over at Global Voices on the Tunisian blogosphere. As many of you know, Tunisia is one of the most information-repressive countries in the Arab world. It has what’s probably the most advanced censorship authorities in the region, and very actively monitors the internet, taps phones, follows dissidents and threatens them. The [...]

If you read French, go immediately check out Bakchich, an excellent webzine/blog about sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb and the Middle East (but it’s especially good on the Maghreb and Muslim Africa.) They have a handsomely designed PDF magazine (a kind of Canard Enchainé or Private Eye for the region) as well as a blog, and [...]

In the long history of public intellectuals using their pulpits to defend the indefensible (more often than not, for direct personal gain rather than any error in judgement), Arab intellectuals of the second half of the twentieth century will occupy a special place. Arab dictators — as well as their foreign supporters — have spent [...]

Perhaps the worst thing about Arab ruling elites is how embarrassing they are:
Arafat widow denies reports she remarried
Thursday August 17, 06:03 PM
TUNIS (AFP) - The widow of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has denied Arab press reports that she had married a brother-in-law of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
“I absolutely deny reports about my [...]

Haaretz has a great profile/interview with Al Afif Al Akhdar, a noted Tunisian liberal intellectual living in France. This is the type of people that should be getting more attention — and proof that it’s not Wafa Sultan vs. all other Arabs out there. Here’s a link to a Google search of his name that [...]

Elijah Zarwan, the author of the recently released HRW report on internet censorship in the Middle East, sent me a long email about his experience so far in Tunisia. He agreed to let me share it here:
I’m always paranoid when I’m in Tunis. Maybe it’s the ubiquitous Amn al-Dawla thugs following me, loitering in the [...]

I usually complain to virtually anyone who’ll listen that Tunisia is always forgotten in the long list of rather nasty Arab regimes. This is because it’s a small country and not politically important, but also because the regime there is quite clever at appearing moderate and buying off the foreign press when it needs to [...]