Tunisian lawmaker arrested on corruption charges

TUNIS, Tunisia

Tunisian security forces have detained a lawmaker on corruption charges, according to a security spokesman.

Lutfi Ali from Tahya Tounes Party and his wife were taken into custody on Saturday in the capital Tunis, Hossam Eddine Jabali, a spokesman for Tunisia’s National Guard, told Anadolu Agency.

He said the lawmaker faces accusations of money laundering and illicit enrichment.

Jebali said the lawmaker’s arrest was part of a campaign to prosecute fugitives on charges of financial corruption and money laundering.

The spokesman said the arrest was approved by a Tunisian court to open a case against the lawmaker and his wife, but without giving any further details.

There was no comment from the lawmaker's family on his arrest.

On Friday, the former chief of Tunisia's National Anti-Corruption Commission, Chawki Tabib, was placed under house arrest upon orders from the interior minister.

The minister also issued a decision to vacate the headquarters of the anti-graft commission, a day after Tunisian President Kais Saied sacked the commission's chief Anouar Ben Hassan.

On July 25, Saied ousted the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority. While he insists that his exceptional measures are meant to "save" the country, his critics accuse him of orchestrating a coup.

Tunisia has been seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among Arab countries which witnessed popular revolutions toppling ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara