6 December 2009
Tunisia Mohamed Abbou’s travel ban lifted
Mohamed Abbou was informed by the Tunisian Ministry of Justice and Human Rights on 28 March 2009 that he is permitted to travel abroad freely again. In 2005, after a trial that breached standards of due process, Mohamed Abbou was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment for committing libel. According to Abbou and several human rights organisations, the true reason for his imprisonment was his advocacy for freedom of expression in Tunisia. Although Mohamed Abbou was released in the summer of 2007, he has been stopped from travelling abroad on several occasions since his release. On a regular basis, L4L, Amnesty International, and other NGOs have requested the Tunisian authorities to consider Abbou’s situation.