Independent civil court needed

Abdel Hamid Jaray Tunis - Nabil Zaghdoud      The Secretary General of the Interior Security Forces Syndicate in Tunisia, Abdel Hamid Jaray, called for the establishment of an independent court, to investigate the violent events which took place in Tunisia during the days of the revolution which ended with the departure of the ousted president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Interviewed by Arabstoday, Jaray said: "We seek the formation of an independent court, consisting of civil and military judges, as well as representatives from civil society, to bring to justice  those who were responsible for the crimes committed against the Tunisian people during the revolution, and this court should replace the military court which currently oversees these events." He added that during and after the revolution, "the militant troops deployed on the streets consisted of both military and security soldiers, so it is not right that a military court will pass judgement on the crimes that were committed then, when the military themselves were clearly involved, and even had the exclusive right to issue orders according to the state of emergency which was in place at the time" added Jaray. In June 2011, the military judiciary in Tunisia finished investigating 182 cases related to incidents of killings which happened during the revolution, for which several members of the security apparatus were charged. Jaray insists that security forces paid the heaviest price for what happened in the revolution. "Arrest warrants were  issued against security personnel on a daily basis, and hundreds of our personnel were subject to unfair judgements. We have no faith in the military judiciary which decides on our cases, especially after some of our members were sentenced to 20 years in jail, after being convicted of killing a protester in Sfax."  He added that security personnel, in his opinion,  have been used as "scapegoats" for those who were actually guilty of the crimes committed against protesters, and, he asserted, "all those who were sentenced to jail for charges related to what happened in the revolution, must be tried again in front of an independent court." On the law of transitional justice, which is expected to be issued in the next few weeks, Jaray said: "We hope that violations and injustices against security personnel will be overturned by that law." Jaray voiced his dissatisfaction in the final report issued by the fact-finding commission investigating the violent events witnessed during the revolution. This report came to the conclusion that the security forces carried 96 percent of the responsibility for deaths or injuries to protesters. The Secretary General explained that the security forces which were deployed on the streets before January 14, 2011, "didn't have the intention of oppressing the protesters, we were only assigned to deal with attempts of robbery and sabotage." he said.   "We were not against the revolution, but we had to protect the state's institutions. If you look at the statistics, the death toll in the Tunisian revolution was considerably less than all the other countries which have witnessed popular revolutions following Tunisia -- it is even less than the death toll of a sunken ship incident which happened in an Arab country," said Jaray by way of comparison. The head of Tunisia's security syndicate highlighted the need to update the laws relating to the work of the security forces which have  been in place since 1969 and "do not guarantee protection to security personnel while doing their duty." Jaray ended the interview by reinforcing the importance of cooperation between security personnel, the publi and  civil society, to enable Tunisia recover from this critical stage in its history. "We are totally open to cooperate with the public and the civil society institutions, as even when the powers that be and governments go, the people will remain," said Jaray.