Tunisia MP arrested after critical remarks against Prez Kais over Parliament suspension

Tunisia security forces on Friday, July 30, arrested a Member of Parliament for passing critical remarks about President Kais Saied on social media. MP Yassine Ayari called President Kais's move to suspend the Parliament, last Sunday, a "military coup". Ayari, a 30-year-old parliamentarian, is a vocal critic of authorities and has had many rows with Tunisian lawmakers in the past. Check out Yassine Ayari's Facebook post where he called the Tunisian political turmoil a result of "military populist monarchy".

Meanwhile, the Hope and Labour Party members claimed that the President's security team did not provide an arrest warrant before handcuffing the MP. Ayari, from the independent Hope and Labour Party, was earlier sentenced to six months of imprisonment in 2015 for defaming the Tunisian army. Following this, he was again handed a three-month jail term for a similar reason.

Actions are justified: President Saied

In the Facebook post, Ayari called the presidential actions "a reversal of the constitution...with the use of the army". Citing the Parliament suspension as an "imminent threat", Saied justified that the arrest of MP Ayari is justified. Head of the State is entitled to take unspecified exceptional measures under grave political threats, he added. However, Ayari's wife took a sharp jibe at the President and called the detention "violent".

Tunisian political turmoil

The country has been witnessing a violent protest after the President announced the firing of the Prime Minister for mishandling the Coronavirus pandemic that left the country's economy in a 'crawling' condition. While reading the firing order of the Prime Minister, he said he used a special constitutional measure that allows him to assume executive power until normalcy is restored in the country. Meanwhile, Ennahdha, a dominant force in the Parliament, has termed the protest as a "criminal attack" against the Tunisia democratic government. The party alleged that the gang involved in the attack are trying to seed turmoil and disruption in the country.

Saied has also fired the CEO of the national TV (Wataniya), Mohammed Lassaad Dahech, on Thursday, July 29. According to a report by France 24 News, the President's announcement came after two guests were briefly banned from entering the studios to take part in a programme. 

(Inputs from AP)