A new request for the release of businessman Nabil Karoui, held in jail and vying for the second round of the presidential election in Tunisia, was rejected Wednesday, his lawyers said.
"We will appeal"
"The judge refused to rule, declaring himself incompetent," told AFP Kamel Ben Messoud, who filed Tuesday a request for release from the investigating judge in charge of the case. "We will appeal," he added. The court did not respond to requests for confirmation.
Nabil Karoui, a public prosecutor charged with money laundering and tax evasion since 2017, was arrested on 23 August. The date of his arrest, 10 days before the start of the campaign, had raised questions about the instrumentalization of justice by politics.
Arrived second in the first round
The investigating judge decided in July to freeze the property of Nabil Karoui and his brother Ghazi, as well as a ban on leaving the country. "This is the third jurisdiction to declare itself incompetent," lamented one of Mr. Karoui's lawyers, Mr. Nazih Souii, recalling that the Court of Appeal also refused to rule on 3 September, just like the Court of Cassation on 13 September.
Nabil Karoui, whose candidacy was validated by Isie, the body responsible for organizing the elections, campaigned through the television channel he founded, Nessma, and his wife Salwa Smaoui . At the end of the poll Sunday, a university without party, Kais Saied, arrived at the top of the first round with 18.4% of the vote, ahead of Nabil Karoui who collected 15.58% of the vote according to preliminary official results published Tuesday.
Nabil Karoui's party, but also Isie and European observers, called for the incarcerated candidate to campaign fairly for the second round of the presidential election. Depending on the time taken to process appeals, the second round could be organized on October 6, the same day as the legislative elections, or on October 13, specified Isie