Tunisian judiciary issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for opposition figure Sihem Bensedrine on charges of forgery, in connection with an investigation regarding a report on crimes committed during the dictatorial regime that was prepared by the authority she once led. According to the spokesperson of the Tunisian primary court, the case pertains to "the falsification of the final report of the authority in relation to compensation files" for victims.
In March 2023, Bensedrine announced that she was prohibited from leaving the country. She headed the "Truth and Dignity Commission," established in 2014 after the revolution that toppled the dictatorship in 2011, which was tasked with compiling a list of acts of violence committed by government officials between 1955 and 2013, covering the presidencies of Habib Bourguiba (1957-1987) and his successor, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1987-2011), down to the turmoil faced by the country in the post-revolution period.
In 2018, with the conclusion of its mandate, the commission prepared an extensive report published in the official gazette in 2020. Bensedrine revealed in 2023 that she has been under judicial investigation since February 2021 over alleged forgery of this report. In its final report, the "Truth and Dignity Commission," which interviewed around 50,000 individuals believed to be victims and referred 173 files to the judiciary, called for "dismantling the system of corruption, repression, and dictatorship" present in state institutions.
Many opponents of President Kais Saied, who has held power in the country since 2021, have been arrested. Saied, who is a candidate for the presidential elections scheduled for October, has faced severe criticism from Tunisian and international human rights organizations regarding the "authoritarian drift" in a country once considered the cradle of the "Arab Spring."
