Chokri Belaïd | |
|---|---|
شكري بلعيد | |
 Chokri Belaïd in 2012 | |
| Born | (1964-11-26)26 November 1964 |
| Died | 6 February 2013(2013-02-06) (aged 48) El Menzah,Tunis Governorate, Tunisia |
| Cause of death | Assassination (multiple gunshots) |
| Resting place | Al Jallez 36°47′10″N10°11′04″E / 36.78611°N 10.18444°E /36.78611; 10.18444 |
| Nationality | Tunisian |
| Political party | Democratic Patriots' Movement |
| Spouse | Basma Khalfaoui |
Chokri Belaïd (Arabic:شكري بلعيد,romanized: Shukrī Bil‘īd; 26 November 1964 – 6 February 2013), also transliterated asShokri Belaïd, was aTunisian politician and lawyer who was an opposition leader with the left-secularDemocratic Patriots' Movement.[1][2] Belaïd was a vocal critic of theBen Ali regime prior to the2011 Tunisian revolution and of the then Islamist-ledTunisian government.[3] On 6 February 2013, he was fatally shot outside his house inEl Menzah, close to the Tunisian capital,Tunis.[1] As a result of his assassination, Tunisian Prime MinisterHamadi Jebali announced his plan to dissolve the existing national government and to form a temporary "national unity" government.[2]
Belaïd was born in the town ofDjebel Jelloud inTunisia on 26 November 1964.[4] He was a student activist in the 1980s.[5] He worked as a lawyer and was also part of the defence team of former Iraqi presidentSaddam Hussein during histrial for crimes against humanity.[6] He spoke out against a 2008 clampdown on miners, and was a noted political critic ofZine El Abidine Ben Ali, the strongman Tunisian leader in office for 23 years, whose 2011 self-exile toSaudi Arabia was the first tangible result of theArab Spring uprisings.[2] Belaid was also a poet, and one of his poems is dedicated to Lebanese intellectualHusayn Muruwwa, who was assassinated by Islamists in the late 1980s.[5]
Belaid was married and had two daughters.[5] The family lived in a rented apartment.[5]
Belaïd was the coordinator of the far-leftDemocratic Patriots' Movement, which was part of a 12-member umbrella organisation called thePopular Front.[3] He identified withpan-Arabism and was active opponent of normalizing relations withIsrael.[7] and was a strong critic of the supporters of fundamentalist Islam, sometimes referred to asSalafists, whose confrontational tactics since the change of government in 2011 have prevented some plays and music concerts from being held in Tunisian cities. The Salafists also have been blamed forattacking the US Embassy in Tunisia in 2012.[8]
Belaid was succeeded byZiad Lakhdhar as secretary general of the party.[citation needed]
On 6 February 2013, as Belaïd was leaving his house in the neighborhood of El Menzah 6, Tunis, he was shot four times in the head and chest by Kamel Gaghgadhi,[9] who later fled with an accomplice on a motorbike.[10] He was rushed into the Ennasr clinic, and died there.[11] According toTunis Afrique Presse, Belaïd died in hospital. Belaid had reportedly received multiple death threats in the days prior to his death.[3] The night before he was killed, Belaid said; "All those who opposeEnnahda become the targets of violence."[12] Earlier that week, Belaïd said that the committees established out of the revolution were a "tool" used by the Islamists.[1]
Following news of his death, police usedtear gas to disperse thousands of people demonstrating in front of theInterior ministry in Tunis.[3] Other protests spontaneously occurred in cities throughout the country, includingMezzouna,Gafsa andSidi Bouzid, where tear gas was also used to disperse protesters.[3][10] The interimPresident of TunisiaMoncef Marzouki cut short an overseas trip to Cairo as a result of the protests and assassination.[10]
On 26 February, four radical Islamists were detained due to their alleged connections to the assassination of Belaid.[13] The suspect in the murder was identified asBoubacar Hakim, a hardline Salafist,[14] which was also carried out by Abū Sayyāf Kamāl Gafgāzī, Lutfī az-Zayn accompanied him, and Abū Zakariyyā Ahmad ar-Ruwaysī helped both in executing the operation.[15]
On 2 October, Chokri Belaid defence committee spokesman Tayeb Oqaili claimed that, according to official documents,Abdulhakim Belhadj was involved in the killings of both Chokri Belaid andMohamed Brahmi, pointing to links between theLibyan Islamic Fighting Group,Ansar al Sharia and theEnnahda Movement.[16] The left-wing leader maintained that Belhadj apparently intended to carry out terrorist attacks in Tunisia, and trained the Ansar al-Sharia cell that killed the opposition politicians, all under close observation by Ennahda leadersRashid al-Ghannushi,Hamadi Jebali andSamir Dilou, among others.[unreliable source?]
A total of 23 suspects were charged in the assassination. On 27 March 2024, a Tunisian court sentenced four suspects to death for their role in the murder and sentenced two others to life imprisonment. Five suspects were acquitted, while the rest received prison terms of varying length.[17]
Prime MinisterHamadi Jebali called the killing "a political assassination and the assassination of the Tunisian revolution."[10] In a televised address, Jebali announced the formation of acaretaker government composed oftechnocrats, which would rule the country until a new election is held.[6] The Islamist political partyEnnahda issued a statement calling the attack a "heinous crime" that targeted the "security and stability of Tunisia".[10] The premises of Ennahda in the central town ofMezzouna and in the north-eastern town ofEl Kef were torched by demonstrators and the party's office inGafsa was ransacked.[6] Four opposition parties, Belaid's ownPopular Front bloc,Nidaa Tounes, the Al Massar party, and theRepublican Party, announced that they were pulling out of the national assembly and called for ageneral strike.[6]
International reactions included:
Egypt – The rulingMuslim Brotherhood said that assassinations were a crime and must be stopped; while theNational Salvation Front expressed its fear of similar political assassinations happening in Egypt.[18]
Germany – Foreign MinisterGuido Westerwelle expressed his "horror" and "sadness."[6]
France – PresidentFrançois Hollande stated that "this murder robs Tunisia of one of its most courageous and free voices".[3]
United Kingdom – TheForeign Office released a statement condemning the killing and calling it a "cowardly and barbaric act aimed at destabilising Tunisia's democratic transition."[6]
United States – The spokesperson for theState Department,Victoria Nuland, condemned the killing and called it an "outrageous and cowardly act." She also called for a "fair, transparent and professional investigation to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice consistent with Tunisian law and international norms".[10]The assassination of Chokri Belaid prompted responses from the Tunisian intellectual community.[19]
Belaid's funeral service was held inTunis on 8 February.[20] It was attended by at least a million people amid clashes between police and protesters[21][22] His body was buried atJellaz cemetery.[20] The following day en Nahda called for its supporters to gather in Tunis.
Media related toChokri Belaïd at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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