The new draft law on the “protection of security forces” would impose disproportionate criminal penalties for various acts that jeopardize security, exempt security forces from criminal liability when they use lethal force, and reinforce impunity that could pave the way for no accountability for security forces.
Sidi Bouzid was the birthplace of an uprising that created the needed epistemological rupture for Tunisia’s civil society to shift from a disguised opposition to one of blunt advocacy and contribution to the political process. It’s no wonder that the sole Nobel prize in the country’s history was awarded in 2015 to four non-governmental organizations, the National Dialogue Quartet, in acknowledgment of their “contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011.
Tunisia may not have the same resources as other nations, yet the small country proved that stringent quarantine measures, social responsibility, and a comprehensive government approach were key to its success against the spread of the virus.
This fact sheet, put together by TIMEP’s Legal Unit, tracks and unpacks some of the key laws in question, including those on civil society, freedom of information, and counter-terrorism.
After the revolution, public morality offenses have been consistently used against those who do not conform to some of Tunisia’s religious and cultural customs.
