Ahmad 
On Tuesday, the Tunisian Parliament approved new legal amendments aimed at reducing the escape of soldiers abroad, by amending the Military Penal Code.
The new amendments allow military personnel who are absent from work after a period of three days, or one day during wartime, following the expiration of a license for a mission or training abroad, to be considered in a state of desertion.
Defense Minister Imad Mameesh confirmed during a plenary session in Parliament that the ministry is keen to confront this behavior so that it does not become a public phenomenon.
The Minister explained that the law in its current form (before revision) was the subject of different interpretations and readings, which some military personnel took advantage of not returning to the homeland after the end of their license, training, or mission assigned to them.
While there are no official statistics on the number of deserters from the army, the head of the Security and Defense Committee in Parliament, Adel Diaf, indicated that the exacerbation of this phenomenon is due to the economic and social situation in the country.
The Penal Code against deserters from the military includes imprisonment for a period ranging from three to twenty years and removal from duties. The new decision also abolishes the statute of limitations for the crime of military personnel fleeing abroad.
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