Tunisia criminalises torture

Details on the new amendments brought to the law that criminalises torture in Tunisia were presented, on Tuesday, at the regular press briefing of the Prime Ministry. The new piece of legislation seeks to reactivate international conventions ratified by Tunisia, particularly the International Convention against Torture, or also the law on economic security adopted under the former regime, said representative of the Justice Ministry Kadhem Zine El Abidine. The decree-law amending and completing some provisions of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedures Code had been adopted last Friday by the Cabinet of the Interim Government. The new decree-law allows to complete the list of persons to be prosecuted for torture. They are perpetrators of torture, its instigators, those who participate in it, accept it, encourage it or keep silent about these crimes, specified the representative of the Justice Ministry. An 8-year prison sentence is provided for torture crimes without after-effects, and 12 years in prison in case where acts of torture leave traces. Regarding acts of torture committed by adults against children, the new law provides for a 10-year prison sentence for acts of torture that cause no traces, and 16 years in prison for acts of torture with after-effects. In all cases, life sentence is handed for torture crimes causing the death of the victim, said Mr. Zine El Abidine. With regard to extradition of criminals, the new law provides for excluding cases where legal authorities believe that there is a risk of torture for the wanted person.