The trial for the assassination of the Tunisian left-wing opponent Chokri Belaïd on 6 February 2013 ended with 4 death sentences, 2 life sentences, 12 sentences ranging from two to 120 years and 5 acquittals. The verdict of the Court of Tunis, arrived after 11 years, it was announced to the media by Aymen Chtiba, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Anti-Terrorism Judicial Unit.
A total of 23 people are in the dock, accused in various capacities of the assassination of the activist, a strong critic of the Tunisian Islamic party Ennahdha, then in power.
The murder was a shock for Tunisia but also a historic turning point for the political life of the country, which was able to find the strength to undertake the path - not without obstacles - of democratic transition from the reaction aroused in civil society.
Belaid was assassinated in front of his home in the El Menzah area of Tunis on 6 February 2013. The opponent publicly denounced the advance of fundamentalist Islam and Ennahda's complacency towards radical movements.
After 11 years and considerable efforts by the Tunisian judiciary to shed light on the case, with investigations full of excerpts, procedural problems, accusations of misdirection and despite today's verdict, there are still gray areas to be clarified regarding the dynamics and instigators of this murder political, observers point out.
The Tunisian authorities announced in February 2014 the death of Kamel Gadhgadhi, considered the perpetrator of Belaïd's assassination, during an anti-terrorism operation.
The murder was then claimed by the self-styled Islamic State, as was that - 6 months later - of another left-wing opposition MP, Mohamed Brahmi.
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