Tunisia: Government urged to heed demands of “18 October Movement” hunger strikers

Reporters Without Borders has urged the Tunisian authorities to take account of the demands of eight opposition figures who began an indefinite hunger strike on 18 October to demand respect for freedom of expression and association in Tunisia and the release of all prisoners of conscience. The hunger strikers include Lotfi Hajji, the head of the Tunisian Journalists Union (SJT). One of the aims of the “18 October Movement” is to draw the international community’s attention to the many violations of basic freedoms in Tunisia although the country is hosting the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) on 16-18 November.