Tunisia: 4 Sentenced to Death for Murder of Key Politician

Facts

• A Tunisian court on Wednesday sentenced four people to death and two to life in prison for their role in the assassination of a left-wing politician, Chokri Belaïd, in Feb. 2013.¹
• Among the two dozen defendants charged in this years-long case, one died in prison before the ruling, while five were acquitted. Others received sentences varying from two to 120 years.²
• Belaïd, critic of the then-ruling Islamist Ennahda party, was found shot dead in his car in Tunis. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for his murder, as well as of opposition leader Mohamed Brahmi, six months later.³
• An estimated 1M people took to the streets during Belaïd's funeral, leading to mass demonstrations and a political crisis that reportedly forced the government to resign.⁴
• The case was reopened last month following the arrest of a former investigating judge for allegedly concealing files. Belaïd supporters reportedly claim that those who planned the crime have yet to be tried.⁵
• Despite a de facto moratorium that came into force in 1991, Tunisia still sentences people to capital punishment — often in terrorism cases. According to authorities, the mastermind of the crime, Kamel Gadhgadhi, was killed in a counterterrorism operation in 2014.⁶

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²FOX News, ³BBC News, ⁴Al Jazeera, ⁵France 24 and ⁶TRT Afrika.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Agence Tunis Afrique Presse. More than a decade after the tragic and appalling killing of Belaïd, justice has finally been served to those involved in this crime. With these sentences, Tunisia's legal system has upheld the rule of law and human rights while stressing that no one will be left unaccountable for their crimes.
• Narrative B, as provided by WCADP. It's a matter of fact that those involved in the killing of Belaïd must face justice for their crimes, but capital punishment is just as awful as what they've done — and attacks the very first human right, the right to life. The de facto moratorium on the death penalty in place for decades is weak and doesn't stop courts from imposing capital sentences, which amounts to torture against death row inmates.