Career
Yahyahoui, alias Ettounsi, founded and edited one of the first open discussion forums on the Internet, the satirical website TUNeZINE (which has since been shut down). This "Zine" (a play on words connecting the genre to the President) drew participants from across the political spectrum discussing women"s issues, human rights, economic problems, freedom of expression as well as religion. The site itself was often victim of the prevalent censorship in Tunisia.
Access to it could be difficult if at all possible, and though he used a pseudonym, Yahyaoui himself was tracked down and arrested for creating the site.
Imprisoned for eighteen months in the Borj al Amri prison, there were numerous campaigns for his release. During his imprisonment, he executed three hunger strikes which helped to draw the attention of the international community.
Some human rights activist groups like Reporters Without Borders helped to draw attention to his case. After leaving prison, Zouhair Yahyaoui was no longer the same manitoba
Weakened by hunger strikes, torture and bad treatment, he died of a heart attack on March 13, 2005.
Being a human rights activist, the new president decided that March 13 would become the national day of Internet freedom to commemorate the death of Zouhair Yahyaoui. 2003 Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists association/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.