Tunisia launches trials of ousted president, ex-officials over 2011 protester killings

Tunisia has kicked off trials of ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, former interior minister and senior security officials over the killings of protesters during the 2011 popular uprising.

The trials opened in the cities of Kasserine and Sidi Bouzid, the cradle of the 2011 revolution that toppled Ben Ali and triggered similar mass protests in other Arab countries.

The trials are the first under the mandate of Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD) to center on demonstrators murdered during the uprising. The investigation committee was established in 2014 to bring justice for those wronged by Ben Ali’s regime.

The accused face charges of “intentional homicide with premeditation” and “attempted homicide with premeditation.”

None of them attended the hearing in court in Sidi Bouzid, much to the disappointment of victims’ kin.

The trial focuses on the death of the 43-year-old computer engineer Chawki Hidri and Mohammad Amari, a 25-year-old student, who were killed by live rounds in protests on December 24, 2010 in the city of Menzel Bouzaiane.

The hearing in Sidi Bouzid began two hours late, angering the victims’ relatives who described it as “a very bad sign”.

“Loyal to the martyrs!” furious audience members shouted at the entrance to the room of the magistrates.

Meanwhile, the case in Kasserine concerned the killings of 20 demonstrators, whose relatives held photos of them in the courtroom.

There have been civil and military trials over the deaths of demonstrators during the 2010-11 protests, but relatives and lawyers have slammed the sentences as too lenient. They expressed hope that the trials under the IVD will bring greater closure.

“I hope that the transitional justice will do us justice” and “reveal the killers of our children,” Mbarka, a mother of one of the killed protesters, said.

Other cases under the commission have so far centered on finding justice for dissidents who died after being tortured during Ben Ali’s autocratic rule.

Tunisia’s 2010 demonstrations were sparked by self-immolation of struggling young market vendor Mohammed Bouazizi in protest at police harassment and unemployment. According to official figures, 338 Tunisians were killed and 2,174 injured in the ensuing popular uprising.

Ben Ali and his wife fled Tunisia to Saudi Arabia after the 2011 revolution, while the whereabouts of the ex-interior minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem remain unknown.

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