On the occasion of the 56th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali awarded for the first time, the President's prize for world solidarity to a Russian academic, Anatoly Egorin, President of the Russian Association of Solidarity and Cooperation between the Peoples of Asia and Africa, according to several Tunisian press reports. President Ben Ali based his decision on Professor Egorin's excellent work in Arab studies and his efforts to boost relations between the Maghreb countries and Russia.
Professor Egorin praised the Tunisian President Ben Ali for his commitment to human rights and for increasing equality and prosperity in Tunisian society. Certain human rights groups in Tunisia and elsewhere question President Ben Ali's democratic credentials, however.
