The deputy public prosecutor of the anti-terrorist judicial division announced on Wednesday the sentencing of four individuals to death and two to life imprisonment for the assassination of Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid in 2013.
A total of 23 individuals faced charges related to the murder of Belaid, a prominent leftist figure. Alongside the death penalties and life imprisonments, sentences ranging from two to 120 years were handed down to other defendants, while five were acquitted.
Belaid, a vocal critic of the ruling Islamist party Ennahdha at the time, was fatally shot on February 6, 2013, while in his car outside his residence.
Despite a de facto moratorium on the death penalty since 1991, Tunisia continues to impose such sentences, particularly in cases related to terrorism.
Jihadists linked to the Islamic State claimed responsibility for Belaid’s assassination, as well as that of another left-wing opposition figure, Mohamed Brahmi, six months later.
Authorities confirmed in 2014 that Kamel Gadhgadhi, the primary perpetrator in Belaid’s case, was killed in an anti-terror operation.
Belaid and Brahmi were outspoken critics of Ennahdha, which held significant political sway in Tunisia following the 2011 revolution. However, the party’s dominance was curtailed in July 2021 when President Kais Saied orchestrated a sweeping consolidation of power.
