The first Ba'athist branch in Tunisia, then under the unified Ba'ath Party, was established in 1955; however, the Ba'ath Party was outlawed under Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Following the Tunisian Revolution, the "Tunisian Ba'ath Movement" was established at its First Congress on 3–5 June 2011 and legally registered on 22 January 2011. However, Ba'athists have been active in underground politics since the 1950s. The Ba'ath Movement marked the fifth anniversary of the death of Saddam Hussein. Omar Othman Belhadj, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Ba'ath Movement, said "Hussein's execution was symbolic, they did not kill a person but rather the ideas he represented and fought for. Hussein was killed for being against colonization and for being a defender of Arab unity and independence of Arab countries." He further noted that he did not support killing Muammar Gaddafi, saying that Gaddafi had a right to a fair trial like anyone else.