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Tunis
Tunisian police arrested a lawmaker from an Islamist party after a warrant was issued by the military judiciary, Tunisia’s state news agency TAP said, the latest of several detentions reported in the North African country.
Tunisia, which inspired the Arab Spring revolts of 2010-11, has been in turmoil since last week, when President Kais Saied took a series of extraordinary measures including suspending parliament and stripping its members of their immunity.
Lawmaker Maher Zeid, of the Islamist al-Karama (Dignity) Party, was arrested on Saturday night, in connection with allegations of incitement against the country’s security forces at Carthage airport in the capital Tunis in March.
The case, filed by an internal security force union, is being investigated by the military judiciary, the agency said.
Al-Karama has strongly criticized Saied’s measures, that also included the sacking of the prime minister. His opponents have condemned his actions as a coup.
Before he was detained, Zeid appeared in a video saying the military judiciary had ordered his arrest, and the detention of other lawmakers from al-Karama, in connection with the March incident. Zeid added that he would give himself up to the authorities despite his opposition to what he described as “the coup regime and violation of the constitution.” The reported arrests came a day after Tunisian MP Yassin al-Ayari, a vociferous critic of Saied, was detained to serve a two-month sentence after being convicted in 2018 of “demoralizing the army,” according to the country’s military judiciary.
Tunisia has been widely seen as the sole democratic success story of the Arab uprisings. But the country is experiencing economic woes compounded by a surge in coronavirus cases.
Saied, an ex-law professor, defended his divisive moves, saying they were in line with the constitution and promised to safeguard freedoms and rights.
In recent months, Saied, who took office in 2019, has been locked in a political dispute over the powers of the government and parliament.
On Sunday, he appeared on Avenue Habib Bourguiba in central Tunis and talked to some people before heading to the nearby headquarters of the Interior Ministry, Tunisian media reported.
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02/08/2021
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