Tunisia: authorities accuse opposition of backing ‘riots’

The Interior Ministry in Tunisia has accused some opposition figures of backing “riots” in the country by financing people to start them, Al Quds Al Arabi has reported. Four people, including the brother of a former presidential candidate and the son of a political party leader face charges of “forming a group intended to attack the internal security of the state.”

According to the ministry yesterday, security officers detained and interrogated two people who confirmed that they had been given money to organise riots in the city of Kasserine. “A sum of 4,720 dinars was seized from the first person and 1,320 dinars from the second,” it pointed out.

The detainees apparently admitted that they received the money from the brother of former presidential candidate in the 2014 election. “This person was previously charged with money laundering and after his arrest confessed that he had recently met a person in Turkey who was very close to a Tunisian political party leader.” Support was promised, he alleged, with funds to “inflame” the situation in Tunisia and incite local citizens to “rebellion”.

The ministry has evidence, it claims, of opposition figures “buying” allegiance during the recent demonstrations on the Independence Day anniversary.

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