Tunisia: More government critics arrested

Government critics have been arrested again in Tunisia. Among them are an opposition politician, a journalist and a lawyer. What exactly they are accused of is unclear. Recently there have been protests against the authoritarian President Saied. According to media reports, government critics have again been arrested in Tunisia. Among them are the country's former justice minister, a journalist and a lawyer for government critics. The Tunisian authorities have not yet confirmed the arrests. Other government critics and two suspended judges had already been arrested over the weekend. In all cases, it is not officially known what they are accused of. However, local media reported that they were accused of conspiring against state security. Arrested known as criticsThe now arrested politician Noureddine Bhiri was Tunisia's Minister of Justice from 2011 to 2013 and belongs to the largest opposition party, the Muslim conservative Ennahda. He is accused of obtaining forged papers for members of foreign terrorist organizations during his tenure. Last year he was under house arrest at an undisclosed location for two months. There was no arrest warrant. Bhiri was released after going on hunger strike. Journalist Noureddine Boutar is Director General of Mosaique FM, Tunisia's largest private radio station. As one of the few broadcasters, he still regularly invites critical voices into the program. Boutar's lawyer said he had already been questioned, but it was still not clear what he was accused of. The third prominent person arrested is Lazhar Akremi, an opposition lawyer. One of his clients had already been arrested on Saturday.