Cyber-dissident Deteriorating

The health of Tunisia’s first cyber-dissident, Zouhair Yahyaoui, is deteriorating. According to relatives who visited Yahyaoui on November 7, he is suffering from acute pharyngitis and a dental abscess, but prison officials have repeatedly denied him access to medical treatment. The Committee pushing for his release through an online petition has issued a statement saying, “Weakened by illness and despair, he spends his days lying down in his bed (a thin mattress he shares with another detainee). He is also denied access to newspapers and books. …” Yahyaoui, who has been tortured in custody, is serving a two-year sentence for “spreading false information” on his TUNeZINE.com website.