Press release archive for January 2011

The Pirate Party has become aware of five arrests across the country in connection with the series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on various websites launched in retaliation for those organisations' actions against WikiLeaks.

While the Party will never condone any illegal actions, it can understand the frustration felt by many who feel powerless in the face of multinational corporations and Governments unwilling to step in.

Internal sources from Tunisia confirm that jailed Pirate Party member Azyz Ammami has been beaten by police officers. Furthermore, he was forced to take a pro-regime lawyer rather than one of his own choosing.

Pirate Party members Azyz Ammami and Slim Amamou were imprisoned on Friday and are being charged with degradation of state property on account of anonymous DDoS attacks. There is currently no contact with either of them and it is not known whether the charges will be dropped or the case will go forward.

Since mid-December 2010, waves of protest have engulfed Tunisia, where throughout the country, people have expressed dissatisfaction with the government of Zineel-Abidine Ben Ali, the current president.

Pirate Parties from at least 21 countries, deplore the violent reactions of the law enforcement agencies against Tunisians and denounce the arrests and disappearances of many bloggers, artists, activists and political dissidents in Tunisia.