Tunisia denies prison abuse claim

By Heba Saleh
BBC correspondent in Cairo

HRW says prisoners' mental health is being affected by their treatment

The Tunisian government has denied accusations that it has been keeping dozens of political prisoners in solitary confinement for years.

New York-based group Human Rights Watch had said some prisoners in Tunisia have spent up to 13 years in isolation.

Tunisia has been criticised by rights groups who accuse its government of clamping down on all opposition.

A justice official told the BBC Tunisia was in talks with the Red Cross to allow the group to visit its prisons.

In an interview, Habib Cherif said there was no truth to allegations that up to 40 political prisoners have spent years in solitary confinement.

The justice ministry official said the maximum period of isolation allowed by Tunisian law was 10 days at a time.

But Human Rights Watch has alleged that Tunisia was violating its own laws, as well as international penal standards, by keeping prisoners in solitary confinement for up to 13 years.

The group said it was part of a deliberate government strategy to crush all opposition. The prisoners mentioned by Human Rights Watch are all Islamists from the outlawed En Nahda Party.

But Mr Cherif said judicial officials in his country monitor jails and that conditions have improved for many inmates.

Human rights groups say the authorities tolerate no dissent and they harass both critics of the regime and human rights activists.