A state of emergency was declared in Tunisia after longtime authoritarian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in mid-January. It remains in place today, frustrating the country’s reformers who turned out in the streets to call for an end to Mr. Ben Ali’s rule and for political freedoms.
Tunisia’s emergency rule banned any gathering of more than three people and allowed security forces to fire on those not obeying orders. The country’s interim government voted in mid-February to extend the state of emergency further, saying the country was not yet stable enough for it to be lifted.
