TUNISIA: AMNESTY TO THOUSANDS ON BEN ALI OUSTER ANNIVERSARY

January 14, 2012: Tunisia granted an amnesty or conditional release from prison to 9,000 detainees to mark the first anniversary of the fall of despot Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
"On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Tunisian revolution the justice ministry has announced that 9,000 detainees will be pardoned or benefit from a conditional release," an official in the ministry said in a statement. The amnesty on what is now a public holiday in Tunisia had been expected and will include Tunisian and foreign prisoners.
Capital punishment of another 122 detainees will be converted to life imprisonment. The death penalty remains on the books in the north African country but is no longer applied. (Sources: AFP, 14/01/2012)