Interviews with Sihem Bensedrine

They used a lot of tools of repression against me and my family. For instance they stole my car, and the car of my husband. And when we try to be– to have a kind of reimbursement from the insurance company, they prevented the company to reimburse us. And we were without any means of transport. When, finally after– of course, they also used a lot of physical harassment. Each time I do a declaration or a statement or an alert on human rights violations, immediately they send the Bondi. (thugs)

And they beat me in the street. And I lodged a lot of complaints in court. But not one single case was allowed by the court. Always for me, I used to do it because it´s important just to use the machine, just to say I can´t accept what you´re doing.

But the judiciary was under the full control. [of the government].

Sihem Bensedrine was born in 1950. She studied at the University of Toulouse Le Mirail in France, from which she holds a degree in philosophy. Upon her return to Tunisia in 1977, she began work as a journalist, and became known as a critic of the regime.

As one of the most prominent Tunisian human rights activists, she paid a high price for her views. The regime continually harassed her and her family, pressuring employers to fire her, applying financial pressure, and slandering her in the media. Bensedrine’s family was under constant surveillance, received death threats, and was at times not allowed to travel outside the country. Due to these threats, she spent years as an exile, continuing to speak out on human rights and democracy issues in her homeland.

In 1998, she cofounded the National Council for Liberties in Tunisia (CNLT). In 1999, she launched the “Kalima” website, which reported on conditions inside the country. Kalima later expanded to satellite radio broadcasting. She also cofounded the Observatory for Defense of Freedom of the Press, Publishing and Creation (OLPEC).

Bensidrine returned to Tunisia as the demonstrations against the Ben Ali regime gathered steam. She continues to advocate for freedom of the press and other human rights as Tunisia transitions to a new democratic system of government.