Sun. Jul 7th, 2024

A Tunisian court sentenced four people to death and two others to life imprisonment for the assassination of Tunisian politician Chokri Belaid 11 years ago.

Belaid was assassinated on 6 February 2013 in front of his home in the governorate of Ariana in Tunis, where he was shot with four bullets, causing great shock in the Tunisian political class, and leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali.

Belaid, who belongs to the political left, has been among the fiercest critics of the Islamist Ennahda party, accusing the party of turning a blind eye to extremist violence against secularists.

Initially, the finger was pointed at radical Salafists, but Ansar al-Sharia denied this and accused remnants of the intelligence services of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of involvement in the crime.

In July 2013, the presidency of the Tunisian government announced the success of the security authorities in uncovering those involved in the assassination, and in August 2013, it announced the arrest of one of the defendants in the city of Hammam Sousse.

Belaid increased his media involvement after the events in Tunisia in December 2010, where he was highly critical of the ruling government and accused it of being lenient with hardliners.

Eleven years after the crime, the case continues to cast a shadow over the Tunisian political scene, and the trial and conviction of the defendants is an important step in the course of justice.

 

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