Tunisia’s government has confirmed that opposition Afek Tunes party leader Fadel Abdelkafi is banned from leaving the country and pointed to a «judicial decision» after the politician complained on Wednesday that he had been prevented from boarding a flight at the capital’s airport.
Tunisian Interior Ministry spokesman Faker Buzgaya stressed that Abdelkafi has been notified that he «must appear before the court in question to specifically verify that it is a judicial decision and not an administrative one,» Mosaique FM reported.
In response, the Afek Tunes leader said he has gone to a court in the capital, Tunis, where he has been told that there are no proceedings against him, so he has again asked the Executive for explanations about his travel ban.
«I publicly ask the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice or any other authorized party to inform me why I am prevented from traveling,» he has indicated in a brief message posted on his account on the social network Facebook.
Afek Tunes protested the decision of the authorities and stressed that it takes place «within the framework of the order to state agencies to repress the opposition». Thus, he stressed that it is «further proof» of the «rapid deviation» of the president, Kais Saied, towards «dictatorship».
Abdelkefi’s complaint came days after a Tunisian court issued a travel ban against the leader of the Islamist Ennahda party and speaker of the dissolved parliament, Rachid Ghanuchi, as part of an investigation against him for alleged corruption.
Tunisia is mired in a serious political crisis following Saied’s July 2021 decision to dissolve the government and suspend the subsequently dissolved parliament amid opposition allegations of an authoritarian drift by the president.
The country is preparing for early legislative elections in December which will be boycotted by the majority of the opposition, which already boycotted the constitutional referendum of July, which strengthened the powers of the President and reduced the weight of the Parliament.
