Amal al-Hilali - Tunisia

The Tunisian president on Monday issued a special amnesty to the leader and political advisor of the Tunisian Call Movement, one of the symbols of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime, Burhan Besais convicted in a corruption case and exploitation of influence.

The decision sparked controversy among political circles over the eligibility of Bassis for the presidential amnesty after a two-year prison sentence and a fine, known as the "Coctile" affair.

On October 2, Tunisia's appeal court sentenced the leader of Tunisia's appeal to a two-year prison term with an urgent entry and a fine of some 198,000 Tunisian dinars for exploiting a public official for illegal financial privileges and damaging the administration.

The advisor, headed by Firas Kafarash, published a post on Facebook on which he announced the signing of a special amnesty for Burhan Besis, in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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The president intervened personally to grant a special amnesty to the man who was known for polishing the ousted regime of Ben Ali before the revolution and his involvement in making Tunisia's anti-government appeal to Youssef the witness more than a question about the motives of the decision and its moral and political legitimacy.

Anxiety
The Secretary-General of the Party "Democratic Trend" opposition Ghazi al-Shawashi said in a statement to Al Jazeera Net that the president's decision to grant Bassis special pardon, although not inconsistent with his constitutional powers, but it raises concern about the exploitation of this authority selectively and for narrow partisan ends.

Al-Shawashi: The president is going to give a negative image of the deviation of the executive authority (Al-Jazeera)

"What is the picture that the president wants to convey to the Tunisians when he intervenes in particular to grant an amnesty to one of the leaders in his party and a relative of his son, despite a court ruling condemning him for corruption on the meaning of Chapter 96 of the Penal Code?"

Al-Shawashi said that the president is going to give a negative picture of the deviation of the executive after the revolution to serve certain people of the old system's symbols by issuing an amnesty on demand to strike at the independence of the judiciary and the transitional justice process.

Kiddie ruled
On the other hand, another view is that Burhan Baysis paid his political opinions and his repeated attack on Prime Minister Youssef, the arch-rival of Sabsi and his son, and that his entry into prison was a Kydia decision.

"The President of the Republic has exercised his constitutional authority to grant Bassis a special pardon after suffering a grievance," said Raza Belhadj, head of Tunisia's political bureau.

Belhadj: The Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure give the Sebsi all powers to grant this amnesty (Social Media)

He added that "Bessis was sentenced to imprisonment by a political decision Kidi from the Prime Minister Yusuf witness and other persons, and was released by a constitutional decision."

Belhadj rejected the accusations that included the President of the Republic to exercise selectivity in granting special amnesty, stressing that the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure grant him all powers to grant this amnesty without prejudice to the independence of the judiciary.

He admitted to what he called "Baysis was subjected to grievance as soon as the verdict was issued, where the executive authority did not leave him a place to stop the sentence, and was put in jail once the decision was announced in a precedent not in the history of Tunisia."

The special amnesties issued by al-Sibsi to the leader of the Tunis appeal sparked social media and sparked debate among activists and party leaders.

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Questions and attack
The leader of the Republican Party, Essam al-Shabi, asked whether he had acted as head of all Tunisians or president of the Tunisian Appeal Party when he took the decision to pardon the official of the political party in his party to use his experience in the all-out war against all.

The MP from the Voice of the Peasant Party, Faisal al-Tebini, posted a video on his Facebook page attacking what he called the abhorrent regional policy and the selectivity of dealing with the poor and the rich.

"It is now enough for one of the terrorists to announce that he belongs to Tunisia's appeal for a special amnesty," he said.

On the other hand, lawyer and human rights activist Laila Haddad praised the amnesty decision on her facebook page.