Abuses by security forces threaten Tunisia reforms: Amnesty
tunis — A rise in “brutal tactics” by Tunisian security forces in line with nationwide emergency laws to counter terrorism are threatening reforms in Tunisia, Amnesty International said in a report on Monday.
Since the 2011 Tunisian revolution that sparked the Arab Spring, the North African country has been wracked by militant attacks that have killed more than 100 soldiers and police, some 20 civilians and also 59 foreign tourists.
Authorities have hit back by imposing a series of security measures and Tunisia has been under a continuous state of emergency since a November 2015 attack that killed 12 presidential guards.
Entitled “An end to the fear: abuses under Tunisia’s state of emergency”, the report “exposes how entrenched impunity has fostered a culture in which violations by security forces have been able to thrive”, said Amnesty’s Heba Morayef.
It outlines what Amnesty calls “Tunisian security forces’ reliance on the brutal tactics of the past, including torture, arbitrary arrests, detentions and restrictions on travel of suspects as well as harassment of their family members”.
All this, it says, “is threatening Tunisia’s road to reform”.
“The chilling accounts detailed in this report signal a disturbing rise in the use of repressive tactics against suspects in terrorism-related cases over the past two years, providing a grim reminder of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s rule,” said Amnesty. Ben Ali was ousted in the 2011 revolt. The report details 23 cases of torture and other ill-treatment by police, the National Guard and counter-terrorism brigades since January 2015.
Amnesty said victims spoke of being “brutally beaten with sticks and rubber hoses, placed in stress positions such as the ‘roast chicken’ position or forced to stand for prolonged periods, subjected to electric shocks, deprived of sleep or had cold water poured on them”.
Authorities have also imposed travel bans on at least 5,000 people and restricted the movements of dozens more. —