A Tunisian judge yesterday ordered the release of presidential candidate Ayashi Zamel from prison, but he was detained again immediately after his release, his associates and lawyers reported, quoted by Reuters and BTA.
The agency notes that this comes just a month before presidential elections, which opposition activists say are being staged to eliminate rivals to incumbent President Qais Syed.
Zamel was arrested on Monday on charges of "forging signatures". Each candidate must submit 10,000 signatures of his supporters to participate in the election. The candidate denies any wrongdoing.
Just minutes after being released from the prison "Borj al-Amri" however, Zamel was again detained by National Guard officers and taken to an unknown location, a member of his campaign staff, Mahdi Abdel Javad, told Reuters.
Zamel's lawyers, Abdesatar Masoudi and Dalila bin Mbarek, said he was taken immediately after his release from prison.
Zamel claims he faces "restrictions and threats" because he is a serious rival to Syed. The opposition candidate promises to restore democracy in the country, guarantee freedoms and strengthen the ruined economy.
He is one of only three candidates allowed to take part in the vote on October 6, along with Syed and Zuhair Magzawi, a former lawmaker from the pan-Arab left.
Sayed was democratically elected in 2019, but in 2021 he suspended parliament, fired the prime minister and began ruling by decree - something the opposition describes as a return to authoritarianism.
The European Union expressed its regret for the attacks on democracy in Tunisia after the arrest of a presidential candidate and the exclusion of three other candidates from the race, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
„Recent events testify to the continued restriction of the democratic space” in Tunisia, the spokeswoman of the European External Action Service expressed regret in a communique.
„The right to vote and respect for the separation of powers are at the core of democratic values, as well as electoral rights and a fair trial,” she added.
A few weeks before the presidential elections on October 6, the EU expressed its regret for the decision of the electoral commission, which, according to Brussels, “restricts the choices of Tunisian citizens”.
„This decision is in addition to the arrests and prison sentences issued in recent weeks against political figures, including some potential candidates for the presidential elections,”, the communique also said.
The decision comes after the electoral commission earlier this week excluded from the race three other candidates considered to be serious rivals to incumbent President Qais Syed.
President Sayed, democratically elected in 2019, has been accused by his critics of an authoritarian bent after he suspended parliament and fired the prime minister on July 25, 2021, granting himself extraordinary powers.