Debate in Tunisia over Continued House Arrest of Officials

Tunisian President Kais Saied. (Reuters)
Tunisian President Kais Saied. (Reuters)
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Debate in Tunisia over Continued House Arrest of Officials

Tunisian President Kais Saied. (Reuters)
Tunisian President Kais Saied. (Reuters)

The Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH) has requested the government to clarify the situation of officials who have been banned from traveling and are under house arrest.

The league said it received several complaints related to the human rights situation in the country, especially after President Kais Saied’s extraordinary moves on July 25.

LTDH chief Jamel Msallam said he submitted a request to the interior ministry to discuss this major human rights issue and identify the reasons behind the decisions taken against several businessmen, government employees and other figures.

However, Msallam said he didn’t receive a reply, describing the decisions as “arbitrary.”

His statements sparked mixed reactions among Tunisians and sharp debate about the continued travel ban against some officials.

Imad al-Ghabri, spokesperson of the Tunis Administrative Court, said 15 of those under house arrest, by order of the interim interior minister Saied appointed, had appealed the decision before the court.

The verdict should be issued in less than a month, he told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that they were included in the judicial emergency list.

MP Mabrouk Karsheed revealed that the travel ban is being implemented at Tunis-Carthage International Airport.



Israeli Bill Targets Families of Minors Convicted of Security Offenses

Israeli military vehicles during the second day of an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 November 2024, in which at least five people were killed and ten wounded according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (EPA)
Israeli military vehicles during the second day of an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 November 2024, in which at least five people were killed and ten wounded according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (EPA)
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Israeli Bill Targets Families of Minors Convicted of Security Offenses

Israeli military vehicles during the second day of an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 November 2024, in which at least five people were killed and ten wounded according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (EPA)
Israeli military vehicles during the second day of an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 20 November 2024, in which at least five people were killed and ten wounded according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. (EPA)

The Israeli parliament has passed a bill stripping some insurance benefits from families of minors convicted of security offenses.

A rights group denounced the legislation as a form of collective punishment of Palestinians.

The bill, which passed 29-8 late Monday, bans direct family members of minors convicted of security offenses from receiving a child allowance, study grants, or other welfare benefits under Israel’s National Insurance program while the minor is imprisoned.

It was passed to “cause parents to supervise their children and make sure that they do not engage in terrorist activity,” according to a press release on the website of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

Legal group Adalah, which called on Israel’s attorney general to withdraw the law, said the true aim of the legislation was “to impose punitive measures under the pretext of counterterrorism by denying welfare benefits.”

Adalah said that because the legislation only applies to those convicted of security offenses, who are overwhelmingly Palestinian, it “creates a distinction on the basis of nationality.”

It’s the latest in a series of measures passed by the Knesset that have been denounced by rights groups as draconian.

A law passed earlier this month would allow Israel to deport family members of Palestinian attackers to Gaza or other locations. In late October, the Knesset passed two laws banning UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, from operating on Israeli soil.