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Tunisia got rid of the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali regime ten years ago without reforming the judiciary and the security apparatus, while the economy remains under the control of some groups, according to a report by AFP in which it monitored the changes more highlights that were produced in the country.
When Ben Ali left the country on January 14, 2011 after a mass demonstration demanding his removal, he left power with only a few family members and direct advisers.
Although the police were the mainstay of the system, only 54 top Interior Ministry officials were removed from office in 2011 and another group in 2013.
Ola bin Najmeh, deputy director of the Security and Criminal Reform Organization, said the dismissed Interior Ministry officials were not prosecuted or punished, while the professional lives of others have developed.
After the revolution, some people who practiced torture were convicted and the State Security Service, which had adopted torture in the jails of the Ministry of the Interior, was dissolved and the internationally acclaimed 2014 constitution clearly defined the role of the police in the democratic system.
But Siham Bensedrine, former director of the Truth and Dignity Commission, an institution established after the revolution to investigate crimes that occurred during the dictatorship, says “demons from the past have risen.”
Some police unions that were formed since 2011 have become tools of political pressure, with strong interventions, in some cases, in the courts to avoid prosecution by the security forces.
Although torture no longer exists in the system, this practice still exists. Since 2013, the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) has taken responsibility for defending 500 victims and has condemned the “near total impunity” of torturers.
When specialized courts began in 2018 with trials related to the crimes of murder, rape and torture that took place between 1955 and 2013, the security authorities obstructed the process and almost all the police officers refused to appear before these courts as witnesses or defendants. .
Political expert Salim Kharrat believes that “it takes near-suicidal political courage” to reform the police and judicial sectors, which have deep political ties.
Within the judiciary, which was widely exploited to serve the interests of the overthrown regime, the judges who had served under Ben Ali were removed from office, but the corrupt judges were not held accountable.
Regarding economic reform, Kharrat says a key element in the problem is the “crony capitalism” persecuted by the state and the “family blocs” that control parts of the economy.
During Ben Ali’s reign, investment privileges were granted to a specific family, the President’s family, and this economy is still largely monopolized by those close to ruling circles at the expense of the country’s development.
Louay Al-Shabi, head of the non-governmental organization Alert, says the state requires trucking companies to have one or more than 18 trucks, ensuring that the big players present share the market without competition.
There are exclusive agents for the auto companies, guaranteeing huge profits to a group of dealers that was long owned by one of Ben Ali’s in-laws, then bought by a powerful family.
The scale of corruption has increased since the fall of Ben Ali, and Tunisia lost 15 places between 2010 and 2017 in the ranking of the organization Transparency for transparency.
And the additional imposition of a capital requirement of no less than 5 million dinars ($ 1.8 million) for new businesses, and this licensing system strengthens sponsorship.
