United States Department of State

Tunisia: Human Rights United States Department of State

Tunisia is a constitutional republic with a multi-party parliamentary system and a government appointed after the January 2011 revolution ousted former president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. The interim government of Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh took office on February 27. In October 2011 citizens chose in free and fair elections a Constituent Assembly that began work on a draft constitution in October 2012. The assembly was also tasked with preparing a new electoral law in preparation for the election of a constitutional government. Authorities failed at times to maintain effective control over the security forces. Security forces committed human rights abuses. The most important human rights problems included constraints on media and freedom of expression, the use of excessive force against protestors, and the absence of transparent and speedy investigations into previous allegations of human rights abuses. Other human rights problems included torture and other physical abuse, poor prison and detention center conditions, arbitrary arrest and detention, a lack of judicial independence and a lax prosecutorial environment with poor transparency, reliance on forced confessions, and barriers to the economic and political participation of women. The government took steps to investigate officials who committed abuses, but investigations into police and security force abuses were lengthy and lacked transparency. A lack of follow-up action in some cases led critics to question the government?s commitment to seriously prosecuting those charged, in turn creating a perception of impunity by some in civil society.