Algeria arrests ex-Tunisia intelligence chief

Tunisian President Kais Saied attends the celebration the anniversary of Algeria’s independence in Algiers, Algeria on July 05, 2022. Algeria celebrates 60 years of independence from France [Algerian Presidency – Anadolu Agency]

Algerian authorities arrested former Tunisian intelligence chief Lazhar Longo as he was allegedly sneaking through the border between the two countries and handed him over to Tunisian authorities, the London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported.

Last year, Longo was sacked by Tunisian President Kais Saied, who suspended parliament, dismissed then-Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and seized executive authority.

Since Saied’s takeover of power, Tunisian authorities have pursued Longo over accusations that he belongs to a secret apparatus of the opposition Ennahda movement, which held a majority in the previous government.

Longo had close ties with Mechichi and Ennahda. He previously served as a security attaché at the Tunisian embassy in Paris and as intelligence chief on numerous occasions.

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