Tunisia sentences man to death for murder and rape of infant

An Army Corporal accused of murdering a four-year-old child has been sentenced to death by firearm, the lawyer of the victim’s family confirmed.

“The Permanent Military Court of Tunis, on Tuesday, pronounced the death penalty by firearm against the killer of child Yassine Aouachri,” Zoubeir Yahyaoui added in a statement to Tunisian Agence Presse. The defendant has the right to appeal against the ruling.

Capital punishment can only take place when it is validated by the President of the Republic. The last time capital punishment was used in Tunisia was in 1991.

Mohamed Amine Yahyaoui, 25, was charged with misappropriation of a minor, using violence that resulted in the death, rape, sequestration and maltreatment of a juvenile with premeditation.

The four-year-old child, who was abducted on 17 May 2016 in front of a primary school in the Mellassine neighbourhood, was found murdered the same day in an abandoned house in Cité Hellal.

Yahyaoui had made four attempts to kidnap a child before capturing Yassine.