Tunisia's caretaker government on Thursday approved an amnesty bill to be put before parliament, ministers said after the first cabinet session since the ouster of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The general amnesty will cover the banned Islamic movement, Ennahdha, they said. "The minister of justice presented a bill for a general amnesty, which was adopted by the cabinet, which decided to submit it to parliament," said Development Minister Ahmed Nejib Chebbi.
"The Ennahdha movement will be involved in the general amnesty," Higher Learning Minister Ahmed Ibrahim told journalists. Banned under the regime of Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday after a month of unprecedented anti-government protests, Ennahdha (Awakening) announced Tuesday it would apply to be legalised.
The movement's leader Rached Ghannouchi, exiled in London, would only be able to return to Tunisia once the amnesty law is passed because he carries a life sentence for plots against the state, the prime minister said this week. The transitional unity government, appointed Monday, held its first session after five of its members quit this week in protest at the inclusion of stalwarts of Ben Ali's regime.
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