Munir Jalali, a poor man, was forced to sell his refrigerator so that his pregnant wife could deliver their son.

At a local hospital in Gafsa Governorate, in southern Tunisia, Jalali was shocked when the obstetrician asked for a bribe before the cesarean section. “Although treatment is for free in this public hospital, the obstetrician asked me to give him TND 300 (US$ 150) to perform the caesarean delivery,” says Jalali.

Munir Jalali, a poor man, was forced to sell his refrigerator so that his pregnant wife could deliver their son.

At a local hospital in Gafsa Governorate, in southern Tunisia, Jalali was shocked when the obstetrician asked for a bribe before the cesarean section. “Although treatment is for free in this public hospital, the obstetrician asked me to give him TND 300 (US$ 150) to perform the caesarean delivery,” says Jalali.

Jalali had no other choice but to accept the bribe and he went quickly to his relatives and friends to borrow the amount, but no one lent him the money, so he sold his refrigerator against TND 200 (US$ 100) and gave the amount to the doctor after convincing him of lowering the previously agreed-upon amount.

After the delivery, Jalali exposed the doctor’s illegal practices. “I filmed the doctor’s reception of the bribery using my phone without informing my wife so that she wouldn’t become confused before the delivery,” Jalali told Correspondents.

He however did not expect that his posted video would go viral and force authorities to initiate an investigation and suspend the doctor. Jalali is one of hundreds of Tunisians who have used technology to fight corruption through documenting violations and posting them online to embarrass authorities.

Proving the crimes

These whistle blowers get their stories exposed via social media users and civil society- I Watch Organization (IWO), for example, aims at exposing all types of corruption in Tunisia.

Two years ago, IWO established billkamcha.tn (“caught”), a website that served as an interactive map to receive information on corruption in order to collect, validate and then submit evidence to journalists, bloggers and the judiciary – encouraging people early on to report corruption before it moves to advanced stages, including using audiovisual tools by the affected people themselves.

“It is very difficult to prove cases of bribery and corruption,” says Intissar Arfaoui an IWO member. “We however have developed a strategy to document evidence to be used in courts of law.”

The IWO not only launches awareness-raising and anti-corruption campaigns but also ensures communication with owners of video clips documenting corruption. IWO offers legal advice and assistance and a provision of volunteer lawyers to defend victims. The IWO also launches campaigns against ministries to force them not to settle for dismissing corrupt employees and to prosecute them as well.

Exposing violations

Bloggers and people interested in combating corruption have now become armed with their mobile phones to monitor and photograph government vehicles working outside official working hours.

Activists have taken photographs revealing the use of government cars during working hours to carry out personal affairs, such as carrying goods and driving along beaches. In some cases, cars were caught being refueled with gasoline smuggled from Libya, while their users sold the free gasoline coupons they got from their respective departments at government gas stations.

These activists ensure that the license plates are legible to prove the involvement of their users. They often publish pictures with comments mocking respective departments to attract the attention of the public and embarrass officials.

Blogger Hisham Jamni says these campaigns will continue, especially given the positive interaction by the liaison offices in the ministries that seek to transfer what is published to ministers who in turn initiate direct investigations to validate the received information and impose necessary penalties.

The Anti-Corruption and Bribery Commission (ACBC) – a constitutional body – collects what is published in this regard and files in its name lawsuits separate from those filed by affected citizens.

ACBC head Shawqi Tabib argues that the ACBC’s duty is to stand by people to eradicate corruption that has increased since the revolution. “Investigating major corruption cases should not hinder people’s monitoring of corrupt public servants,” he says.

Legal confusion

Journalist Montasser Sassi however maintains that the success of such campaigns is no longer a guarantor of rights. A month ago, Sassi visited the Vehicle Inspection Center to get an inspection document for his car. The employee however demanded a bribe.

Sassi pretended that he agreed and then documented his payment of the bribe using his mobile phone. Consequently, the Ministry of Transportation initiated an investigation and suspended the employee.

“What will the court do regarding this case?” wonders Sassi. “Will it consider me involved in the payment of a bribe as provided for by the law against bribers and the bribed? Or will it only deem me a journalist who only wanted to expose violations in the public service?”

Observers believe that administrative investigations are not enough to deter the corrupt in public service and say there is a need for judicial intervention to imprison them.

A source at the Public Prosecution Office in Tunis states that the judiciary depends on all types of evidence, underlying that these video clips are a prelude to a proof or a whole proof to make the case, since all evidence in Tunisian courts is permissible.