HRW investigates Tunisian justice system

TUNIS, Tunisia, May 3 (UPI) -- Tunisian prosecutors need to show their full commitment to justice with the prosecution of former regime officials accused of torture, Human Right Watch said.

Human Rights Watch said it was investigating the first torture case to go before the post-revolutionary judicial system in Tunisia.

Former Interior Minister Abdallah Kallel and three other former security officials faced prosecution for "using violence against others" in a 1991 incident involving military officials accused of plotting with Islamist party Ennahdha, now in control of the Tunisian government.

Eric Goldstein, deputy director of Middle East and North Africa programs at Human Rights Watch, said torture was "rampant" under the government of former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Human Rights Watch said it was investigating the post-revolutionary torture case after an appeals court in April reduced prison sentences for Kallel and his co-defendants.

"Effective prosecution of torture requires an adequate legal framework as well as political will to end impunity," Goldstein said

Human Right Watch said the case shows Tunisian authorities aren't serious about addressing past human rights abuses.