Panel hears from victims of Tunisia's 1984 bread riots

By Saif al-Din bin Mahjoub

TUNIS (AA) - Victims of Tunisia’s 1984 bread riots, many of whom suffered torture and arbitrary detention, provided testimony on Thursday before a Truth and Dignity Commission (TDC) which convened in Tunis.

Prompted by a sudden rise in bread prices, the riots erupted on Jan. 3, 1984 during the tenure of former President Habib Bourguiba.

The disturbances left dozens of people dead, while hundreds more were injured in clashes with Tunisian security forces.

On Thursday, the government-run TDC held public hearings in which survivors provided accounts of their experiences.

"The commission has received 1,270 files related to the 1984 riots,” commission head Sihem Bensedrine said.

According to Bensedrine, the files include numerous accounts of murder, torture and arbitrary arrest by the authorities.

Abd al-Sattar al-Maaroufi, who participated in the riots when he was 15 years old, was arrested and sentenced to five years in jail (although he was later released in 1986).

At Thursday’s hearing, al-Maaroufi said: "My incarceration stopped me from getting an education, which later kept me from finding employment.”

In another testimony, Moncef al-Ajimi, who was jailed for rioting at 17, said he had been severely tortured while in police custody.

Al-Ajimi was slapped with 17 years behind bars, but was later released in 1988 after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali had seized power one year earlier.

The TDC hearings are set to continue amid ongoing debate over how victims should be compensated.