Critic of Tunisia president detained for insulting police

Tunisian police have arrested a prominent critic of the president after a military appeals court sentenced him to 14 months in jail.

Seifeddine Makhlouf – head of the Islamist nationalist party al-Karama – was found guilty of insulting police during a protest at Tunis Airport in 2021.

A court had initially sentenced him to five months in prison.

Mr Makhlouf has been a strident critic of President Kais Saied, who has been widely accused of mounting a coup.

Eighteen months ago he froze parliament before taking control of the judiciary and pushing through a new constitution that gave his office almost unlimited powers.

By BBC