First human rights trial against former Tunisian leader Ben Ali

A Tunisian commission probing human rights violations stretching back 61 years brought its first case to court this week, with former President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and 13 other ex-officials on trial.

The Truth and Dignity Commission was set up in 2014 following the toppling of Ben Ali in 2011 that sparked the Arab Spring uprisings. It is mandated to investigate human rights violations between Habib Bourguiba’s accession to the presidency in 1957 and the date of its creation. It aims to hold perpetrators to account and rehabilitate their victims.

The Middle East Eye reports that Tuesday’s first court case concerns the forced disappearance of Kamel Matmati, a member of the Islamist movement Ennahda, who was arrested in 1991 during Ben Ali’s rule and tortured to death. The courtroom in the southern coastal town of Gabes was packed with family members and activists who called for justice, an end to impunity and closure.

Since the commission began work, it has received more than 62,000 allegations of human rights violations and interviewed close to 50,000 people. It has referred at least 32 cases of “serious violations” of human rights to Tunisian courts.

Report based on story featured on The Middle East Eye.