Brussels, 08/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 7 September, the president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, "expressed his most earnest concern at the suspension of the congress of the Tunisian Human Rights League (THRL) on 5 September", which was due to take place in Tunis on 9, 10 and 11 September. In less diplomatic terms, the French Green Hélène Flautre called for the “siege of the THRL to be immediately lifted". In a press release, Ms Flautre explains: "after the legal soap opera we have come to expect from the Tunisian authorities, the THRL was ordered to suspend its congress and the preparatory work to facilitate it. In taking this the latest in a long series of legal decisions concerning the activities of the THRL, the Tunisian legal system is once again showing its abuse of power and its capacity to harm the exercise of fundamental rights. The THRL, which receives the support from the EU for its activities, under the EU-Tunisia Association agreement (...), is regularly harassed and prevented from carrying out its mission. The authorities have even deprived it of the funds allocated to it by the European Commission under the European initiative for democracy and human rights". The press release adds: "the Maghreb delegation to the European Parliament, of which Hélène Flautre is a member, will visit Tunis from 15 to 17 September. During its visit, the delegation will make use of the opportunity to raise these questions with the national authorities concerned and to inform them of its support for Tunisian independent civil society".