Tunisia extends state of emergency


Tunisian authorities on Friday decided to extend the country’s state of emergency for an additional month.

The Presidency of the Republic of Tunisia said in a statement that President Beji Caid Essebsi received on Friday Tunisia’s Interior Minister, Hisham Al-Furati, and Defence Minister Abdul Karim Al-Zubaidi at the presidential palace in Carthage.

The statement explained that the meeting reviewed the security and military situation in the country and the readiness of different security and military units to counter terrorism and combat organised crime. The extension of the state of emergency will come into effect on Monday.

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The Tunisian authorities imposed a state of emergency for the first time three years ago, in November 2015, following a bombing which targeted a bus of presidential security officers in the capital Tunis, leaving about 30 dead or injured. Subsequently, the state of emergency was extended several times, most recently on 12 March.

The Emergency Law grants the Minister of the Interior wide-reaching powers, including the jurisdiction to place people under house arrest, ban meetings, impose curfews and inspect shops. The state of emergency also allows for control of the media, publications and radio broadcasts, as well as cinematic and theatrical performances, without the prior authorisation of the judiciary.

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