Chokri Belaïd

Chokri Belaïd (; 26 November 1964 – 6 February 2013), also transliterated as Shokri Belaïd, was a Tunisian politician and lawyer who was an opposition leader with the left-secular Democratic Patriots' Movement. Belaïd was a vocal critic of the Ben Ali regime prior to the 2011 Tunisian revolution and of the then Islamist-led Tunisian government. He was a student activist in the 1980s. He worked as a lawyer and was also part of the defence team of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein during his trial for crimes against humanity. and was a strong critic of the supporters of fundamentalist Islam, sometimes referred to as Salafists, whose confrontational tactics since the change of government in 2011 have prevented some plays and music concerts from being held in Tunisian cities. The Salafists also have been blamed for attacking the US Embassy in Tunisia in 2012.

Belaid was succeeded by Ziad Lakhdhar as secretary general of the party.

Assassination On 6 February 2013, as Belaïd was leaving his house in the neighborhood of El Menzah 6, Tunis, he was shot four times in the head and chest by Kamel Gaghgadhi, who later fled with an accomplice on a motorbike. According to Tunis Afrique Presse, Belaïd died in hospital. Belaid had reportedly received multiple death threats in the days prior to his death. The night before he was killed, Belaid said; "All those who oppose Ennahda become the targets of violence." Earlier that week, Belaïd said that the committees established out of the revolution were a "tool" used by the Islamists. The suspect in the murder was identified as Boubacar Hakim, a hardline Salafist, which was also carried out by Abū Sayyāf Kamāl Gafgāzī, Lutfī az-Zayn accompanied him, and Abū Zakariyyā Ahmad ar-Ruwaysī helped both in executing the operation.

On 2 October, Chokri Belaid defence committee spokesman Tayeb Oqaili claimed that, according to official documents, Abdulhakim Belhadj was involved in the killings of both Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, pointing to links between the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, Ansar al Sharia and the Ennahda Movement. The left-wing leader maintained that Belhadj apparently intended to carry out terrorist attacks in Tunisia, and trained the Ansar al-Sharia cell that killed the opposition politicians, all under close observation by Ennahda leaders Rashid al-Ghannushi, Hamadi Jebali and Samir Dilou, among others.

A total of 23 suspects were charged in the assassination. On 27 March 2024, a Tunisian court sentenced four suspects to death for their role in the murder and sentenced two others to life imprisonment. Five suspects were acquitted, while the rest received prison terms of varying length.

Reactions Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali called the killing "a political assassination and the assassination of the Tunisian revolution." In a televised address, Jebali announced the formation of a caretaker government composed of technocrats, which would rule the country until a new election is held. Four opposition parties, Belaid's own Popular Front bloc, Nidaa Tounes, the Al Massar party, and the Republican Party, announced that they were pulling out of the national assembly and called for a general strike. – Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle expressed his "horror" and "sadness."

Funeral Belaid's funeral service was held in Tunis on 8 February. It was attended by at least a million people amid clashes between police and protesters His body was buried at Jellaz cemetery. The following day en Nahda called for its supporters to gather in Tunis.