September 6 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Ayachi Zamel, one of the two rivals of Tunisian President Kais Saied in the presidential elections scheduled for 6 October, was arrested again on Friday just hours after the Tunisian courts decided to provisionally release him pending trial for allegedly falsifying the support he obtained to present his candidacy.
Allah Eddine al Awadi, spokesman for the Jenduba Court of First Instance, confirmed that the candidate had been arrested following the opening of a judicial investigation that had been entrusted to the investigation and inspection unit of the Tunisian National Guard. Two other suspects were also arrested for having falsified the endorsements required to run in the elections, according to information from the Tunisian radio station Mosaique FM.
They have all been charged with violating the African country’s Penal Code for allegedly issuing false certificates, providing false testimonies, offering gifts in cash or kind to influence voters and transmitting personal data of third parties without their permission, among other crimes. The three are now in Bellarigia prison awaiting a court hearing scheduled for next Wednesday.
Zamel, 43, had already been arrested on Monday and remanded in custody, but a court in Manuba, 150 kilometres from Jenduba, ruled on Thursday evening in favour of his provisional release.
However, this would not be the first time that a candidate has run in an election from prison – in 2019, businessman Nabil Karui reached the second round while incarcerated.
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