Souhayr Belhassen is a Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

n human rights activist and journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

. She has served as the President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) based in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 since April 26, 2007. Belhassen is a vocal critic of former Tunisian President

President of Tunisia

The President of Tunisia, formally known as the President of the Tunisian Republic is the head of state of Tunisia. Tunisia is a presidential republic in which the president is the head of the executive branch of government with the assistance of the Prime Minister of Tunisia, formally the head of...

 Zine El Abidine Ben Ali

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is a Tunisian political figure who was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was...

, who was ousted during the 2010–2011 Tunisian protests, calling the former government's crackdown on protesters "a massacre."

In 2011 she was awarded the North–South Prize.

External links

• Interview with Souhayr Belhassen (French)]