Tunis, Tunisia – Four individuals have been sentenced to death and two to life imprisonment following a lengthy investigation into the 2013 murder of Tunisian secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid. Despite a de facto moratorium on death sentences since 1991, Tunisia continues to impose them in cases deemed as “terrorism,” though they are typically commuted to life terms.
Belaid’s assassination, carried out by jihadists claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group, dealt a significant blow to the nascent democracy established following the ousting of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. The slow progress of the investigation sparked accusations of obstruction against the ruling Islamist party Ennahdha, which have since been used by secular President Kais Saied to justify his 2021 consolidation of power, resulting in the party being banned.
The court’s verdict was announced on national television Wednesday after 15 hours of deliberation. In total, 23 individuals received sentences ranging from two to 120 years, with five defendants acquitted. Prosecutor Aymen Chtiba welcomed the rulings, stating that “justice has been served.” Belaid, a vocal critic of Ennahdha, was killed in February 2013 in his vehicle outside his residence.
Jihadists linked to the Islamic State group were behind Belaid’s assassination, as well as that of another left-wing opposition figure, Mohamed Brahmi, six months later. The suspected mastermind of Belaid’s murder, Kamel Gadhgadhi, was announced dead during a counterterrorism operation in 2014. President Saied, who refers to Belaid and Brahmi as “martyrs,” dismissed numerous judges in June 2022, accusing some of obstructing the investigations into the 2013 killings.
Last year, the justice ministry established a special commission to conduct a thorough analysis of the police and judicial probes. Over the past decade, families of the accused and their legal representatives have accused political factions and certain judges of impeding the investigations. Those closely connected to Belaid pointed fingers at Ennahdha, alleging the party had turned a blind eye to extremist rhetoric that emerged at the time.
Following the 2011 revolution, Tunisia witnessed a surge in Islamist radicalism, with thousands of jihadists volunteering to fight in Syria, Iraq, and neighboring Libya. Although jihadist attacks in Sousse and Tunis in 2015 claimed the lives of many tourists and police officers, authorities claim to have made significant strides in combating extremism. Ennahdha, in response to criticisms of leniency, designated the previously lawful Salafist movement Ansar al-Charia as a terrorist group.
In a statement on social media, Ennahdha welcomed the conclusion of the Belaid trial as a validation of its consistent denial of any wrongdoing. The court’s ruling supposedly confirmed the innocence of the Ennahda movement, dismissing what the party described as false accusations by certain ideological groups and political parties.