Tunisia has freed two top opposition leaders among 55 Islamists released as part of an annual amnesty to mark the anniversary of President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali's rise to power, human rights activists said on Monday. They said that Mohamed Akrout and Habib Ellouz, two former presidents of the banned Islamist Tunisian Nahda party, one of the north African country's main opposition movements, were among those freed. The bulk of the 55 were believed to have been freed in the past two days, the activists said. The two had served 15 years of a life prison sentence imposed in 1992 for participation in an attempted military coup."It (the pardon) is a positive step. We hope that it will be followed by others in the framework of the legislative amnesty", Nahda spokesman Ali Laraydh, told Reuters. Human right groups said about 300 people are still in jail for their religious or political opinions, most of them are members of Nahda.
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A former army general, Ben Ali came to power in November 1987, six weeks after becoming prime minister, when doctors declared president-for-life and founder of modern Tunisia Habib Bourguiba senile and unfit to rule. Ben Ali is widely credited for ensuring political stability and strong economic growth in Tunisia but critics accuse him of running roughshod over human rights and democratic values. The government strongly denies the allegation.