4 face death penalty for 2013 Tunisian opposition leader murder

23 individuals have been accused in connection with the assassination of leftist Chokri Belaid

Four individuals were handed the death penalty, while two were given life imprisonment for the killing of Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid in 2013, as stated by the deputy public prosecutor of the anti-terrorist judicial division Wednesday. 

A total of 23 individuals had been accused in connection with the assassination of leftist Belaid. 

Various sentences, ranging from two to 120 years, were imposed on other defendants, with five acquitted. 

Belaid, a vocal opponent of the then-ruling Islamist party Ennahdha, was assassinated on February 6, 2013, in his vehicle outside his residence. 

Tunisia continues to issue death sentences, particularly in terrorism-related cases, despite an unofficial halt implemented in 1991. 

Extremists affiliated with the Islamic State claimed responsibility for Belaid’s murder, as well as that of Mohamed Brahmi, another leftist opposition figure, six months later. 

Authorities announced in 2014 that Kamel Gadhgadhi, the primary perpetrator in Belaid’s case, had been eliminated in an anti-terrorist operation.

Both Belaid and Brahmi were ardent critics of Ennahdha, the party that held significant sway in Tunisian politics and had a parliamentary majority for a decade following the 2011 revolution. 

The party’s political dominance ended in July 2021 when President Kais Saied orchestrated a comprehensive seizure of power. 

Source: AP