Tunisia lifts house arrest against 2 former officials

By Alaa Hammoudi

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – Tunisian authorities on Sunday lifted a house arrest order against former Communications Minister Anouar Maarouf and former anti-corruption tsar Chawki Tabib.

“I was informed that the house arrest has been lifted,” Maarouf, a member of the moderate Islamist Ennahdha Party, said on Twitter.

Tabib, the former head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, also confirmed that the house arrest order against him was removed.

"Few minutes ago, I was informed that the order to place me under house arrest was removed,” he said in a Facebook post.

Tunisian authorities have placed the two former officials under house arrest on Aug. 6, without specifying the reasons for the move.

On July 25, Tunisian President Kais Saied ousted the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority. While he insists that his "exceptional measures" are meant to "save" the country, critics accuse him of orchestrating a coup.

Tunisia has been seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among Arab countries which witnessed popular revolutions toppling ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara