As he rushed towards Bardo Museum, where two gunmen killed 23 people and wounded 50 others on March 18, deputy speaker of the Tunisian parliament Abdelfattah Mourou was shocked to hear voices shouting at him: “Get out!” He was not even allowed to approach the place of the attack or pass the barricade in front of the museum.
Leaving the area, the realization nagged at him that he and his fellow parliamentarians still had not ratified the anti-terrorism law.
As he rushed towards Bardo Museum, where two gunmen killed 23 people and wounded 50 others on March 18, deputy speaker of the Tunisian parliament Abdelfattah Mourou was shocked to hear voices shouting at him: “Get out!” He was not even allowed to approach the place of the attack or pass the barricade in front of the museum.
Leaving the area, the realization nagged at him that he and his fellow parliamentarians still had not ratified the anti-terrorism law.
An Islamist MP, Mourou, known for his eloquence and power of persuasion, sympathized with the angry reaction of the crowd in front of Bardo Museum, as they had been waiting for more than two years for the ratification of the law, which they believe is an important defense factor against terrorism in their country—their patience has run out.
“The Constituent Assembly has failed to ratify the terrorism law due to political differences at the time and the issue was referred to us,” he said. “We will spare no effort to pass this law, but we are awaiting the Justice Ministry’s draft of it.”
Since the return of religious militancy and jihadist ideology in Tunisia in 2011, the debate over an anti-terrorism legislation that does not compromise human rights has not abated in a republic that has not always held a high regard for human rights since its inception.
The contentious debate over rights protection and deterrence
Although everyone was aware of the necessity of enacting anti-terrorism legislation to replace Ben Ali’s repressive law, all the plenary sessions held to discuss and ratify this issue ended in a quarrel among the deputies and ultimate deferral.
Ennahda Movement has always been accused of disrupting the matter, which is an accusation it has continuously denied.
The difficulty of this equation lies in avoiding, as much as possible, Ben Ali’s anti-terrorism law so that human rights are protected, fair trials are conducted and deterrent sentences are handed down.
Mandatory law
The attack on Bardo Museum has shown that militant strategy has shifted from targeting security and army members to targeting citizens, including tourists and Tunisians. Hence, the ratification of the anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering law has become a ‘mandatory’ issue, said Mourou.
Mourou also said priority was given to preparing the appropriate circumstances to counter terrorism and extremism in all forms especially religious extremism. He added that major concern would be focused on passing a law that replaces the one enacted under former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
One of the two terrorists was previously released due to the absence of a legal framework
One of the two gunmen who carried out the Bardo Museum attack was previously arrested on suspicions of being linked to militant groups planning to carry out terrorist operations. He was later released due to the absence of a legal framework that would have allowed the authorities to keep him in custody, according to the Interior Ministry’s Senior Security Official Rafik Chelli. Accordingly, the acceleration of an anti-terrorism law is a ‘mandatory issue’.
Top priority issue
Tunisian Justice Minister Mohammed Saleh Bin Isa said the terrorism bill would be presented to the Ministerial Council next week for onward referral to the parliament for consideration and approval.
Saleh pointed out that the presented bill is the same one previously submitted to the former cabinet but with several amendments. He added that he would demand the parliament to discuss and approve the bill as a matter that must be urgently addressed.
Imperfections
Despite the mandatory and urgent nature of this law, many people still deem it essentially imperfect, particularly the definition of terrorism. They believe the definition to be broad and customized to crack down on freedoms.
Furthermore, the issue of eavesdropping on phone calls must be carried out, according to many MPs, through prior judicial permission. It must be specific in terms of time to avoid exploiting the recordings for purposes unrelated to combating terrorism, as was the situation under former president Ben Ali.
The Troika government drafted a new anti-terrorism law, which failed to have the consensus of sensitive political groups within the Constituent Assembly. Consequently, the draft law has not been discussed throughout the transitional period that ended Nidaa Tunis (Call of Tunisia) power.
On 10 December, 2003, former Ben Ali’s regime passed an anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering law against the backdrop of the September 11, 2011 attacks sponsored by al-Qaeda as well as the attacks on the Tunisian island of Djerba which targeted a synagogue in 2003.
However, the enforcement of this law was primarily used against persons affiliated to takfiri and Salafi groups. It has also been adapted to serve political purposes aimed at cracking down on opposition elements, particularly the Islamist activists mainly affiliated to the Islamic Ennahda Movement.
