Tunisia: presidential pardon for 122 people in the death rows
17 janvier 2012
For the first anniversary of the 14th of January revolution, the newly elected President of the temporary Republic of Tunisia, Moncef Marzouki, decided, on Monday January 16th, to commute 122 death sentences to life imprisonment.
The law on the organization of the authorities authorizes the President to grant special pardon. Thereby, this fervent human rights activist took several exceptional measures in this respect. Thus, added to these pardons, 3868 amnesty and 4976 paroles were granted to prisoners.
Tunisia is a de facto abolitionist country since 1991. However, more than 22 people were condemned to death in 2010. Today, in the democratic steam, the debate on global abolition is reopened. The Constitution project of last December, currently studied by the Constituent Assembly, even provides for the abolition of death penalty.