Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, stated yesterday during the 31st anniversary of the party that he is against the abolition of the death penalty, claiming that it is contrary to the teachings of Islamic law.
“The abolition of the death penalty is against the teachings of Islamic law, and there is no room for discussion over this matter,” said Zoubeir Chhoudi, the spokesperson of Ennahda.
Farida Laabidi, the head of the Subcommittee of Rights and Liberties and a member of Ennahda, shares the same opinion and believes that the death penalty should be maintained in order to keep with the teachings of Islam.
Ghannouchi, who himself was sentenced to death during the era of President Bourguiba, was exiled to Algeria. From there, he moved to England in 1991, where he lived for over twenty years.
Human rights activists have prioritized advocacy efforts toward the abolition of the death penalty. Since 1977, Amnesty International has been calling for the abolition of the death penalty. Loutfi Azouz, the head of Amnesty International in Tunisia stated that the organization was against the death penalty in all cases. “There are different interpretations of the teachings of Islamic law, and the death penalty can be abolished in Islam,” he explained.
Although the death penalty remains within the prerogatives of the Tunisian judiciary, no criminal has been executed in Tunisia since 1991.
Although Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki has declared that he will not sign any execution order, some lawyers involved in the case of killing people during the Tunisian revolution demanded the death penalty for former president of Tunisia Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali.
Source: tunisialive, June 4, 2012
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