Photo Credit: Reuters/Zoubeir Souissi
Hind Meddeb, a French-Tunisian journalist and Aymen Fekish, a rapper commonly known as Men-Ay, received a four-month suspension on their sentences. The two were convicted of insulting the country’s justice system, but it is unknown why the sentences were suspended. The Associated Press suggests that Tunisia “has witnessed a string of suits against musicians for offending public morals and insulting government officials as the country grapples with limits to freedom of expression, since the overthrew of its dictator in 2011.”
Meanwhile, John Kell reports that Moody’s lowered Tunisia’s government issuer rating by one notch to Ba3, three levels into junk territory. After downgrading Tunisia in May, Moody’s suggested the recent cut was in part a result of the lack of progress on a new constitution and a timetable for elections, Kell indicated.
Despite the recent difficulties Tunisia has faced, Patrick Markey and Tarek Amara remain cautiously optimistic of its democratic transition compared to other transitioning countries in the region. The leader of Ennahda, Rached Ghannouchi, argues that unlike other states in the region, ”We have conflict here, but we fight with words, with courts and laws, not bullets.” Markey and Amara caution though, ”infighting, economic malaise or the threat of violent militants determined to stamp their fundamentalist view” on Tunisia, might upset the current political balance.
However, Duncan Pickard, a nonresident Fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council, believes the transition process is less clear. He suggests, “With no apparent movement, agreement, or scheduled negotiations between the parties, the Tunisian stalemate could seriously threaten its sluggish march towards a stable democracy,” and to get back on track, “Ennahda and the secular parties must prioritize the dialogue over an interim prime minister.”