Tunisian activists demand withdrawal of arrest warrant for former president

By Ammar El Khalfi and Mehmet Nuri Ucar

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) - Tunisian human rights defenders and activists demanded on Saturday the withdrawal of an arrest warrant for former President Moncef Marzouki.

“The arrest warrant for Marzouki is an arbitrary measure that comes in the context of the treasonous rhetoric carried out by President Kais Saied and defaming the opposition,” activists said in a petition that condemned the warrant.

This is a policy that Saied has followed since July 25 to silence anyone who opposes his monopoly in power, it added.

The petition demanded the cancelation and withdrawal of the warrant, “which offends the Tunisian judiciary.”

A Tunisian court issued an international arrest warrant against Marzouki on Nov. 4.

Marzouki, who was president from 2011 to 2014, accused Saied of dividing the Tunisian people.

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

A new Cabinet was unveiled last month, two weeks after Najla Bouden was appointed the country’s first female prime minister.

Tunisia is viewed as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition after the popular Arab Spring uprisings in 2011.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Gozde Bayar