Tunisian opposition politician barred from travel

No warrant issued

The head of a Tunisian political party who is a prominent opponent of President Kais Saied said he was stopped from leaving the country on Wednesday, fuelling concerns over the right to dissent and democratic pluralism. Fadel Abdel Kefi, the head of the Afek Tounes party, said police stopped him at Carthage international airport and prevented him travelling, but without any judicial warrant. The move comes a day after police started investigating a domestic journalist over an article critical of the prime minister and in the run-up to legislative elections that Saied’s opponents have decried as undemocratic.