UN calls for investigation in Belaid murder

(Vatican Radio) Thousands of people poured into the streets of several Tunisian cities in violent protest on Wednesday, after Tunisia’s prominent opposition leader, Chokri Belaid, was assassinated earlier that morning.

The 47-year-old lawyer was a fierce critic of Ennahda, the moderate Islamist party that dominates the government.

Belaid was shot four times at close range in front of his home in Tunis, and died later in hospital.

Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali condemned the killing. He referred to it as “a political assassination” and a strike against the Arab Spring.

The motive behind the killing remains unclear and the shooter’s identity remains unknown. But protestors, including Belaid’s widow, are pointing fingers at Ennahda, with some protesters attacking party offices. The party has denied its involvement.

Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a statement condemning the assassination and called on the Tunisian government to investigate Belaid’s murder.

“We’re calling on the Tunisian authorities to take serious measures to investigate his killing, as well as other politically motivated crimes,” said Pillay’s spokesperson, Cécile Pouilly. “And we’re also asking the authorities to provide better protection for people, who like Mr. Belaid, have received threats and are clearly at risk today.”

Pouilly remembered Belaid as “a very prominent defender of human rights and democratic values and a firm opponent of violence.”

Belaid’s family said he regularly received death threats—the most recent, the day before being gunned down—but he refused to limit his high-profile activities in view of advancing the changes the revolution had begun.

Tunisia was the first Arab country in the Mediterranean region to oust its leader and to hold free elections in a series of political revolutions that began two years ago, which became known as the Arab Spring.

Tunisia’s path from dictatorship to democracy was seen as a model for the Arab world. But tension has been growing between Islamists and secularists in the North African country. The government has also faced a string of protests over economic hardship and declining trade, as Tunisians had hoped for better living standards following the revolution.

Listen to the report by Laura Ieraci: