Tunisia builds large prison for returning terror suspects

Tunisian authorities are currently building a large and heavily guarded prison to accommodate Tunisians returning from terrorism hotspots around the world, government sources revealed yesterday.

According to the sources, the terror suspects who will be held inside this large prison are going to remain under strict observation and supervision until it can be determined whether they had been radicalised.

The source said that the families of those returning are also going to be placed under surveillance in order to undermine any infiltration attempts by Tunisians who enlisted in extremist groups such as Daesh.

The number of Tunisians fighting with these groups stands at around 3,000, according to the Tunisian newspaper Al-Maghrib.

The Tunisian minister responsible for coordinating these efforts, Mehdi Ben Gharbia, said: “The government will never call for any country to extradite or handover any Tunisians involved in terrorism.”

This policy was readily apparent in the case of Anis Amri, the perpetrator of the Berlin Christmas market attack earlier this month. German intelligence reported that Tunis dragged its feet over issuing the necessary paperwork to have Amri deported.

NGOs, MPs and politicians in Tunis have recently protested against the return of the Tunisians involved in violence in several countries, including Syria, Iraq and Libya.