On the night of 16 October 2011, the offices of the Ligue Tunisienne pour la défense des Droits de l'Homme (LTDH) (Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights) in the Amran neighbourhood of Tunis were broken into by hitherto unknown persons.

Further Information

The burglars took a computer on which important information was stored.

LTDH is one of the most prominent human rights organisations in Tunisia.

During the burglary on the night of 16 October, the offices of LTDH were searched and a computer containing vital information and documents on the work of the organisation and other confidential data including the names and details of 3800 election observers was stolen. The election observers whose details were stolen are members of the National Observatory for the Monitoring of Elections, which was established by LTDH.

They are to be deployed across the country to monitor the general elections which are due to take place in Tunisia on 23 October. The robbery of the offices of the LTDH was the third such occurrence since August 2011.

The authorities have been informed of the burglary and the relevant police and security departments have carried out a forensic examination of the premises including the taking of finger prints.

The burglars left the building without leaving any indication as to their identity or the motive behind the burglary. In recent weeks there has been a surge of attacks and burglaries targeting certain political parties and media outlets in the country.

The attack on LTDH comes at a time when Tunisia is bracing itself for the implementation of a democratic system of government following the uprising of January 2011 which ended a long period of authoritarian rule in the country. Although government-sponsored attacks against human defenders are no longer occurring, there are fears that remnants of the previous government may still be trying to hamper the work of human rights NGOs. LTDH believes that the break-in and burglary are intended to hamper the work of LTDH and hinder their efforts to ensure that free and fair elections are carried out in the country on 23 October.

Front Line believes that the break-in and burglary of the LTDH offices are directly related to the organisation's legitimate work in the defence of human rights, particularly the efforts to ensure free and fair elections.