Major concerns over corruption amnesty law

Tunisia’s opposition groups have expressed concern over the country’s transition to democracy after Parliament passed an amnesty law for officials accused of corruption under toppled dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The law was passed after a rowdy debate in Parliament which followed a Cabinet reshuffle that saw Ben Ali-era officials join the Cabinet. A report on the News24 site notes that Tunisia has been seen as a model of democratic transition since Ben Ali was overthrown in 2011. Monica Marks, an expert on Tunisian politics, said the law's passage was ‘a huge symbolic victory for impunity’. 'It signals a green light, from the top of Tunisia's state institutions, to individuals engaged in abuses of power,’ she said. Proposed by President Mohamed Beji Caid Essebsi in mid-2015, the Bill grants an amnesty to business people and Ben Ali officials on trial for corruption, in exchange for returning illicit money and paying a fine.