Tunisia Presidential Hopeful Arrest Decried as ‘Dangerous’ Move
Tunisia Presidential Hopeful Arrest Decried as `Dangerous' Move
(Bloomberg) -- Two of Tunisia’s main parties criticized the arrest of a media mogul-turned presidential candidate on tax evasion changes and raised questions over the role of the judiciary in the North African nation’s politics.
Nabil Karoui, the owner of Nessma TV and a self-proclaimed champion of the poor, was detained on Friday after the issuing of an arrest warrant in a case that dates back to 2016. His Heart of Tunisia party has accused authorities of tactics “reminiscent of the worst authoritarian regimes” in targeting Karoui, who a June poll showed could win next month’s vote.
The candidate for moderate Islamist party Ennahda, Abdelfattah Mourou, described the arrest as a “very dangerous event.” There’s concern “the judicial agenda will interfere with the political agenda to create confusion and lead us to the unknown,” he said in comments aired by Radio Diwan, a local broadcaster.
The Popular Front opposition party in a statement called on the judiciary and other state institutions not to intervene in “electoral conflicts and settle political and partisan scores.” The court that issued the warrant says it followed all legal procedures, and Tunisia’s justice minister has asked a supervisory body to verify the correct steps were taken.
More than two dozen candidates are competing in Tunisia’s election, which was moved up to Sept. 15 after the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi in late July. The birthplace of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings is struggling to revive its economy amid political infighting.
Parliament in June tried to amend the criteria specifying who can run in elections -- a step that might have disqualified swathes of contenders, including Karoui. The electoral commission said this weekend that Karoui is still a candidate.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jihen Laghmari in Tunis at jlaghmari@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Michael Gunn
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