海角大神

British inquest on 2015 beach attack criticizes Tunisian police, as several face trial

Judge Nicholas Lorraine-Smith, presiding over a seven-week inquest into the deaths, ruled that the tour operator hadn鈥檛 been negligent. He did, however, criticize Tunisian police for a bungled response.

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On Tuesday, families of the 30 British tourists killed in聽a 2015 Tunisia terrorist attack聽announced their intent to sue Tui, the company that had arranged their trips, for failing to keep its customers safe.

But that same day, Judge Nicholas Lorraine-Smith, presiding over a seven-week inquest into the deaths, ruled that the tour operator hadn鈥檛 been negligent. He did, however, criticize Tunisian police for a bungled response.

鈥淭hey had everything they required to confront the gunman, and could have been at the scene within minutes,鈥� Judge Loraine-Smith said, . But many panicked and fled, allowing gunman Seifeddine Rezgui to shoot and throw grenades at the Imperial Marhaba hotel for about 30 minutes.聽

鈥淭he response by police was at best shambolic and at worst cowardly,鈥� he added, according to the Associated Press.

Afterwards, Tunisian officials quickly emphasized that they had referred more than 30 people to trial for criminal negligence during the attack, including at least six police officers.

Tunisia's fight against terror has faced new challenges since the 2011 revolution, with economic difficulties and an initial power vacuum fostering聽a recruiting ground for extremism. Now, as some fighters begin to make their way back to Tunisia from jihad abroad, the country is debating how to mitigate the threat they could pose at home.

International observers often hold up Tunisia as the Arab Spring鈥檚 only true 鈥渟uccess story:鈥� a country that cast off its strongman leader and built a functioning democracy, avoiding the authoritarian regimes or civil violence that took root elsewhere in the region.

But many problems remain for this North African nation of 11 million people, as high hopes for better employment rates fell short. As the tourism industry took a hit, and youth unemployment increased, many headed for Europe, or conflict zones in Syria or neighboring Libya.

"Unemployment, a lack of hope, and extremism are the three major threats to Tunisia's future," Walid al-Bannani, a member of the country's parliament, told 海角大神 last October.聽

Between 3,000 and 6,000 Tunisians have fought with the self-declared Islamic State, prompting debates about how to mitigate the threat when they return.聽One of these Tunisians was the 24-year-old Mr. Rezgui, who , The New York Times reports.

"We do not know how these people can come back and have the same values as we do, the sense of belonging to Tunisia, to the Tunisian nation," activist Boutheina Chihi Ezzine, who led a protest of more than 1,000 people after the Berlin attacks, told the AP.聽

The European Union, eager to mitigate migration and terrorism risks from the country, of aid to the country in early December 2016. Just weeks later, a Tunisian man drove a truck into a Berlin Christmas market, killing twelve people.

On Wednesday, Tunisian state media reported that 33 people 鈥� including at least six police officers 鈥� were being referred to trial for criminal negligence for failing to help the victims, who included tourists from other European countries.

Sofiene Selliti, a spokesperson for the country鈥檚 Justice Ministry, linked the announcement to British pressure, saying that he was publicizing the prosecutions only 鈥渂ecause of that British report.鈥�

鈥淲e were not planning on telling people about this,鈥� . 鈥淓veryone was asking for a comment, and we had to respond and show that we, too, are working.鈥�

This report contains material from the Associated Press.