Tunisia sentences 4 to death, 2 to life in prison for assassination of politician in 2013

DUBAI (Reuters) – A Tunisian court sentenced on Wednesday four people to death and two people to life in prison on charges of participating in the murder of prominent political leader Chokri Belaid 11 years ago, the country’s first political assassination in decades.

Belaid, a leftist politician, had been a fierce critic of Islamist Ennahda party, claiming it turned a blind eye to violence perpetrated by extremists against secularists. He was shot dead in his car by gunmen on Feb. 6, 2013.

(Reporting by Nadine Awadalla and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Nadine Awadalla and Kim Coghill)