Prime Minister Ali al-Arid, the head of the Tunisian government, has ignited controversy by announcing that an anti-terror law created during the Ben Ali regime will remain active. The announcement came shortly after eight Tunisian soldiers were ambushed and killed by an insurgent group in the mountainous Al-Shaanbi region in the Kasserine Province in late July. The attack on the Tunisian soldiers took place four days after the assassination of the pan-Arab opposition member Mohamed Brahmi.
Prime Minister Ali al-Arid, the head of the Tunisian government, has ignited controversy by announcing that an anti-terror law created during the Ben Ali regime will remain active. The announcement came shortly after eight Tunisian soldiers were ambushed and killed by an insurgent group in the mountainous Al-Shaanbi region in the Kasserine Province in late July. The attack on the Tunisian soldiers took place four days after the assassination of the pan-Arab opposition member Mohamed Brahmi.
Former regime’s law still active
Amidst fears of Tunisia becoming a hub for terrorism in the region, the government sought to respond, albeit with a law enacted during Ben Ali’s former regime.
In 2003, Ben Ali’s regime passed Statute 75 – designed to combat terrorism and money laundering – on the backdrop of the September 11 attacks in the US. Since the fall of the Ben Ali regime, the law has primarily been used against members of Salafi and Takfiri groups and to suppress opponents, including Islamic activists. With the news that the law will remain in usage, what shocked Tunisians the most was that Prime Minister al-Arid had been a staunch opponent of the law during Ben Ali’s time in power.
Sami al-Tariqi, a member of the Ennahda Movement Political Bureau, told Correspondents that the application of the law has nothing to do with the prime minister or any politician. “There is a law and this law hasn’t been suspended or amended, regardless of the criticism aimed at it from a human rights perspective,” says al-Tariqi.
Not much else to fight terror with
“It is true that the law was issued in an era of tyranny and it was used by Ben Ali to justify the absence of democratic institutions. But we are now in another situation and if we do not act to combat terrorism and continue with our approach of exchanging accusations we will give terror the opportunity to strike the state and end the democratic transition of Tunisia.”
Al-Tariqi points out that it is natural for a state to abide by the rule of law. “It is not possible to speak about the activation of the anti-terrorism law from a legal perspective,” says al-Tariqi “because there is a law which hasn’t been suspended. The public prosecution should apply it.”
Amendments needed
Al-Tariqi did however suggest the existing law should be amended, specifically clauses dealing with the right of defence and the guarantee of a fair trial. He also demanded the formulation of a precise and updated definition of the word ‘terrorism’.
“The law contains many flaws and breaches which violate human rights and which may lead to arbitrariness in its application,” says al-Tariqi cautiously, adding that ‘terror’ and ‘terrorism’ must be defined for the law to be effective.
The fourth chapter of the current anti-terrorism law defines terrorism as “every crime, regardless of its motives, related to an individual project or a collective one, which may intimidate a person or a group of persons or spread terror among the population – in order to influence the policy of the state and to force it to carry out a certain action or to deterr it from doing it – or which disturbs public order.”
“Law violates human rights”
Critics of the law have called for it to be ripped up and relegislated. “This law contains blunt legal violations and it is not capable of confronting the terrorism which is sweeping the country,” Abdelwahab al-Hani, head of the Al-Majd Party, told Correspondents.
“We have demanded the suspension of the law or at least a revision of some of its chapters which we consider as violations of human rights and the right to fair trials,” says al-Hani.
But al-Hani says legislation alone cannot defeat the current terror threat in Tunisia. “There should be a comprehensive national prevention strategy to combat terrorism. In order to be able to contain terror, effective security plans, such as restricting the sales of materials used by terrorists to make bombs, should be implemented,” adds al-Hani.
New legislation expected soon
Iman al-Tariqi, president of the Freedom and Justice Organization, called for a national dialogue – bringing together all political parties and human rights organizations – to formulate a new law which protects against terrorism and which is consistent with the aspirations of the Tunisian people who want a law that respects human rights and ensures fair trials, even for those who have transgressed against Tunisians.
“We should not accept a law that gives many powers to the security apparatus but does not emphasize the respect of human rights,” says al-Tariqi. ” We are against a law which is drafted using loose terminology because as such, it could have many interpretations. This led, during the era of Ben Ali, to many arbitrary arrests and gave too much power to the security forces.”
The Ministry of Human Rights and Transitional Justice has been preparing a draft of a new anti-terrorism law which contains elements of the previous law issued under Bel Ali on December 10, 2003.
Minister Samir Dilou, a high profile human rights lawyer who represented many defendants charged with the anti-terror law during the regime of Ben Ali, has publicly criticised the existing legislation before. It remains to be seen what will replace it.
