TUNIS — The Truth and Dignity Commission of Tunisia released its final report this week on more than 50 years of dictatorship in the country, a devastating, 2,000-page archive of torture and human rights violations that is intended to prevent the return of authoritarian rule. The president of the commission, Sihem Bensedrine, unveiled the document at a ceremony in Tunis on Tuesday and posted the entire Arabic-language document on the commission’s website. The report is the product of four and a half years of investigation by the commission, which was mandated by a Constitutional Assembly after Tunisia’s popular uprising of 2010 and 2011. That revolution inspired Arab Spring revolts across North Africa and the Middle East — most of which were followed by violent crackdowns and power struggles, if not civil war. After the revolution in Tunisia, however, leaders sought to prevent a backslide to authoritarianism, creating the commission to unveil the truth of crimes in the country from 1955 to 2013, preserve the evidence for public memory and recommend cases for prosecution.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 28, 2019 15:56 UTC