Tunisian President Kais Saied Saturday announced a plan to compensate the victims of the 2011 revolution that ushered democracy into the country after the ousting of then-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Saied’s decree declares compensation for “martyrs,” including police and army personnel killed and wounded during what he referred to as “terrorist attacks.” The UN reported that as many as 300 individuals were killed during the month-long uprising against poverty, corruption and political repression in Tunisia in 2011. At the time, Ben Ali left the presidency and fled the country after he declared a state of emergency amid nationwide protests, banning public gatherings and allowing police to shoot anyone refusing to obey orders.

Saied is currently caught in the midst of intense political turmoil. On April 4, Tunisia’s parliament, in an online plenary meeting, voted to end Saied’s exceptional measures imposed on July 25, 2021, whereby he dissolved the parliament, dismissed the prime minister, and dismantled democratic institutions including the Supreme Judicial Council.

Saied relied on Article 80 of the Tunisian Constitution to justify the maneuver as a crackdown on corruption in the political class. Article 80 states that in the “event of imminent danger threatening the nation’s institutions . . . the President of the Republic may take any measure necessitated by the exceptional circumstances.” This move has been criticised as being constitutionally invalid. Critics argue that Article 80 must be read together with articles 72 and 89, which only allow for the dissolution of the parliament if a no-confidence motion is passed against the government twice and an election is held within 90 days.

In response, Saied has said that the meetings of the house are illegal and members who participated in them are guilty of “conspiring against state security.” Tunisia’s Minister of Justice has summoned 121 out of 126 members of the house for questioning by the anti-terrorism unit.