Death threats delay Tunisian constitution vote

Parliament members gather, Friday, Jan. 3, 2014 at the National assembly in Tunis. AP FILE PHOTO

TUNIS, Tunisia—Tunisia’s constitutional assembly prepares to select a new committee to oversee elections after its work weekend was disrupted by death threats against one of its members.

The assembly plans to select the nine members of a commission Monday to supervise elections in 2014.

On Sunday, the assembly departed from its schedule to pass a new article making accusations of apostasy a crime after one of its members received death threats.

Police said left-wing deputy Mongi Rahoui was called by an Islamist member an “enemy of Islam” and later received death threats.

Two leftist assembly members were assassinated by Islamist extremists in 2013.

The assembly is voting on a constitution to create a new democracy after decades of dictatorship.

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