Tunisia lawmakers debate new anti-terror bill
Tunis
Tunisian lawmakers began a three-day debate Wednesday on a new anti-terrorism bill aimed at beefing up powers to confront a jihadist threat following a spate of deadly attacks.
President Beji Caid Essebsi imposed a state of emergency after a student went on a shooting rampage at a beach resort last month, killing 38 foreign tourists, most of them Britons.
Tunisia has come up with several drafts of legislation to deal with "the fight against terrorism and money laundering" since the 2011 revolution, but none reached parliament because of a lack of consensus.
The latest version would allow courts to impose death sentences for terror convicts and make it easier for investigators to use phone-tapping against suspects. It would also make public expressions of support for terrorism a jailable offence. The bill went before lawmakers after it won approval from a commission made up of party representatives, including from the Islamist Ennahda and Essebsi's Nidaa Tounes.
"This project is one of the measures among others" in combatting the jihadist threat, said lawmaker Khaled Chouket of Nidaa Tounes.
"It is a historical test, and we must win to reinforce the values of (the Muslim Prophet) Mohammed," he added.
Sahbi Attig, a counterpart from Ennahda, called on parliament to amend the bill, arguing some of its measures were too repressive. "We must be vigilant to ensure Tunisians aren't faced with injustice," he said. It would replace the 2003 terrorism law, passed under the dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and widely criticised as being a tool to crush dissent, especially from then-banned Ennahda.
But advocacy groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have condemned the latest bill. They have described it as draconian, saying its definition of terrorist crimes is too vague and that it fails to adequately safeguard the rights of defendants and could undermine freedoms.
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