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Belaid's Widow Holds Ennahda 'Politically Accountable' for Slaying

In an exclusive interview with Ali Hashem, the widow of slain Tunisian opposition politician Chokri Belaid holds the Tunisian government "politically accountable" for his murder.
Basma Beliad, the widow of assassinated leftist politician Chokri Belaid, carries a poster of her husband as she's surrounded by journalists, during a demonstration calling for Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali and his cabinet to step down, next to the National Constituent Assembly in Tunis, February 11, 2013. A party led by interim President Moncef Marzouki said on Monday it had "frozen" its withdrawal from Tunisia's coalition government while talks continue on a political crisis sharpened by the killing of an

TUNIS, Tunisia — A monotone black dominates the scene at Chokri Belaid's humble flat in Tunis. Only two white elements exist here, his wife's hair and a picture of them together when he was the groom and she was the bride. Five bullets were enough to claim the Tunisian opposition figure's life and turn his wife, Basma Khalfaoui, to a widow.

She browses the pictures. Here Belaid is posing in front of the statue of Iraq's former dictator, Saddam Hussein, in Baghdad, another photograph shows him at the university, one taken in Paris with him holding his newborn daughter, Neyrouz, to his chest. "This is our picture the day we got married," she explained as she showed me the rest of the pictures, the invaluable treasure left to her after the assassination of her husband.

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