The large-scale trials in Tunisia of more than 40 people accused of various conspiracies against Tunisia and its president, Kais Said, are set to resume.
The trial, originally scheduled to begin on March 4th, was postponed until April 11th, and was delayed a week later.
Among the defendants are the nation’s most senior opposition politician, diplomat and media personalities. To undermine the rules of Syed, he made a complaint including contact with “foreign powers”; It’s being played and the symbol of Tunisia’s democratic backslide.
Almost all accused face long prison sentences or death penalties.
Despite the judge’s decision, enforcement has effectively been suspended in Tunisia since 1991.
In this case, will some of the accused be sentenced to death? And is such a statement implemented?
Let’s take a closer look.
Does the death penalty still exist as a punishment in Tunisia?
The death penalty remains a legal penalty available to judges, but has not been in place since 1991 and has established a de facto suspension.
The 2014 Constitution provides certain allowances for legal enforcement, but Tunisia has consistently supported the United Nations efforts to establish a global suspension on the use of the death penalty since 2012.
However, the death penalty has not been abolished.
Have people been sentenced to death in Tunisia?
The last person to be executed in Tunisia was serial killer Naceur Damergi, a “butcher of Nabert,” who was hanged in 1991, but the penalty continues to be featured in legislation and sentences.
In February this year, eight individuals were recently sentenced to death for the murder of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi in 2013, and four were sentenced to death in March 2024 for killing another politician Chokri Bereido’s same year.
In 2022, 16 people accused of being members of ISIL (ISIS) were sentenced to their role in the 2016 attack on Bengaldane, a desert city.
Similarly, in January 2020, a Tunisian court sentenced eight individuals to death for their involvement in a suicide bombing of a Tunis presidential guard, killing 12 presidential guards and injuring 20 people.
Are there some of the defendants in “conspiracy cases” facing death penalty?
Jaouhar Ben Mbarek, Khayam Turki, Issam Chebbi, Ghazi Chaouachi, Ridha Belhaj and Abdelhamid Jelassi have been in pre-detention since February 2023.
If convicted, they will face the death penalty.
Another defendant accused of trying to change the nature of the nation is former Justice Minister Nurededin Bili, whose charges depend on a series of social media posts he allegedly wrote.
Other charges against the defendants include national security conspiracy and those belonging to “terrorists” groups. Both are capital crimes.
What is President Said’s attitude toward the death penalty?
He supports it.
During the first presidential hasting in 2019, Kais easily admitted his support for the death penalty, as long as it was carried out according to legitimate procedures.
In 2020, in response to the popular rage following the brutal murder of 29-year-old Rahma Lahmar, he returned to the issue, telling his Security Council that “murder is worth the death penalty.”
However, it is important to note that despite Sayed’s past public support for the penalty, he has not yet overseen its implementation despite widespread removal of political enemies and critics.
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