Tunisia Judge Imprisons Former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh

Tunisian former prime minister Ali Laarayedh (AFP)
Tunisian former prime minister Ali Laarayedh (AFP)
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Tunisia Judge Imprisons Former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh

Tunisian former prime minister Ali Laarayedh (AFP)
Tunisian former prime minister Ali Laarayedh (AFP)

Tunisia’s anti-terrorism judge decided to imprison Ali Laarayedh, a former prime minister and senior official in the Islamist Ennahda party, after hours of investigation into suspicions of sending militanrs ti fight in to Syria, lawyers said on Monday.

“The investigative judge issued a prison decision against former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh in what is known as the deportation file,” lawyer Ines Harrath said.

“This is true,” Mokthat Jmayi, another Laarayedh lawyer, told Reuters, without giving further details.

Ennahda denied in a statement accusations of terrorism, calling it a political attack on a foe of President Kais Saied to hide “the catastrophic failure of the elections”.

Only 11.2 percent of Tunisian voters cast ballots in the parliamentary elections, Farouk Bouasker, the head of the electoral commission, said after most political parties boycotted the vote as a charade to shore up President Kais Saied's power.



Israel Says it Carried Out Warning Strike on 'Extremists' in Syria Threatening Druze

Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
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Israel Says it Carried Out Warning Strike on 'Extremists' in Syria Threatening Druze

Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI
Syrian security forces secure the area following armed clashes in Jaramana town, near Damascus, Syria, 29 April 2025. EPA/MOHAMMED AL RIFAI

The Israeli military carried out a warning strike against "extremists" preparing to attack members of the Druze minority in the Syrian town of Sahnaya, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz.

"The IDF (military) carried out a warning action and struck the organization of an extremist group preparing to attack the Druze population in the town of Sahnaya, in the Damascus region of Syria," said the statement.

The Israeli announcement came after an eruption of deadly sectarian violence in predominantly Druze areas near Damascus.

The Israeli statement also said a message "was passed on to the Syrian regime - Israel expects it to act in order to prevent harm to the Druze."

A spokesman for Syria's interior ministry, speaking to Reuters from Sahnaya said he had no indication that an attack had taken place.