Tunisia Sentences Five to Death in 2019 Terror Bombings

Police officers are seen at the site of an explosion in downtown Tunis, Tunisia, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Police officers are seen at the site of an explosion in downtown Tunis, Tunisia, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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Tunisia Sentences Five to Death in 2019 Terror Bombings

Police officers are seen at the site of an explosion in downtown Tunis, Tunisia, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Police officers are seen at the site of an explosion in downtown Tunis, Tunisia, June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

A Tunisian court in charge of investigating terrorism-related cases sentenced to death on Tuesday five defendants in the 2019 terrorist explosions.

The twin blasts occurred on the same day in Charles de Gaulle Street in central Tunis and another near a police station in Al-Qarjani district.

The court sentenced three of the accused to death and 10 years imprisonment in the case of the terrorist blast in Al Qarjani district. A suicide bomber on his motorbike waited for a few minutes until the gate of the headquarters of the anti-terrorism brigade was opened. He then blew himself up, wounding four and killing one.

Investigations showed that the attack wasn't an individual act but had several perpetrators.

The second terrorist explosion targeted a municipality police patrol that was stationed at the entrance of Charles de Gaulle Street in the capital Tunis.

Judiciary and security investigations, in this case, included seven of the accused. Two received death and 10-year imprisonment sentences, while a third was handed out a 10-year imprisonment sentence along with five-year security supervision after his release.

In the same case, the court issued life-imprisonment sentences against three others, while another detainee was sentenced to 20 years in prison along with five years of security supervision after his release.

Tunisia has been battling terrorist attacks following the 2011 revolution.

The most dangerous were the attack on Bardo National Museum, which killed 22 foreigners, and the terrorist attack on the “Imperial” hotel, which killed 39 foreign tourists – most of them Brits.

Military and security units were also targeted by a series of attacks that killed dozens.



Libya's Eastern Parliament Approves Transitional Justice Law in Unity Move, MPs Say

Members of Libyan legislatures known as the High Council of State, based in Tripoli in the country's west, and the House of Representatives, based in Benghazi in the east, meet for talks in Bouznika, Morocco, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Eljechtimi/File Photo
Members of Libyan legislatures known as the High Council of State, based in Tripoli in the country's west, and the House of Representatives, based in Benghazi in the east, meet for talks in Bouznika, Morocco, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Eljechtimi/File Photo
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Libya's Eastern Parliament Approves Transitional Justice Law in Unity Move, MPs Say

Members of Libyan legislatures known as the High Council of State, based in Tripoli in the country's west, and the House of Representatives, based in Benghazi in the east, meet for talks in Bouznika, Morocco, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Eljechtimi/File Photo
Members of Libyan legislatures known as the High Council of State, based in Tripoli in the country's west, and the House of Representatives, based in Benghazi in the east, meet for talks in Bouznika, Morocco, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Eljechtimi/File Photo

Libya's eastern-based parliament has approved a national reconciliation and transitional justice law, three lawmakers said, a measure aimed at reunifying the oil-producing country after over a decade of factional conflict.

The House of Representatives (HoR) spokesperson, Abdullah Belaihaq, said on the X platform that the legislation was passed on Tuesday by a majority of the session's attendees in Libya's largest second city Benghazi.

However, implementing the law could be challenging as Libya has been divided since a 2014 civil war that spawned two rival administrations vying for power in east and west following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

"I hope that it (the law) will be in effect all over the country and will not face any difficulty," House member Abdulmenam Alorafi told Reuters by phone on Wednesday.

The United Nations mission to Libya has repeatedly called for an inclusive, rights-based transitional justice and reconciliation process in the North African country.

A political process to end years of institutional division and outright warfare has been stalled since an election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed amid disputes over the eligibility of the main candidates.

In Tripoli, there is the Government of National Unity (GNU) under Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah that was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021, but the parliament no longer recognizes its legitimacy. Dbeibah has vowed not to cede power to a new government without national elections.

There are two competing legislative bodies - the HoR that was elected in 2014 as the national parliament with a four-year mandate to oversee a political transition, and the High Council of State in Tripoli formed as part of a 2015 political agreement and drawn from a parliament first elected in 2012.

The Tripoli-based Presidential Council, which came to power with GNU, has been working on a reconciliation project and holding "a comprehensive conference" with the support of the UN and African Union. But it has been unable to bring all rival groups together because of their continuing differences.