Tunisia Ends State of Emergency 3 Years After Uprising

The Tunisian government this week lifted the state of emergency that has been in place since a popular uprising three years ago overthrew the government and marked the beginning of the Arab Spring.

The office of President Moncef Marzouki announced on its Facebook page Thursday that the president lifted the state of emergency as of Wednesday. The repeal of the state of emergency—which had given the government greater control over protests and the press, among other powers—is the latest sign of stability in Tunisia after three years of political tumult since the ouster of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.

Earlier this year, Tunisia’s ruling Islamist party handed over power to a technocratic government ahead of a new round of elections, in a feat of compromise that has been mostly absent elsewhere in the region.