Four days before the second round of the Tunisian presidential election, the finalist Nabil Karoui, currently incarcerated, is due to be released on Wednesday (October 9th). The decision was taken by the Court of Cassation, according to his lawyer Ben Messoud.
The businessman was arrested on August 23, ten days before the start of the presidential campaign, after accusations of tax evasion and money laundering. In second place in the first round of the presidential election with 15.6% of the vote, he will face in the second round the lawyer Kais Said, who obtained 18.4%.
A judicial soap opera
The request for release of Nabil Karoui was rejected Tuesday, October 1 by justice. The Independent Higher Authority for Elections (Isie), relying on the presumption of innocence, allowed it, however, to be a candidate unless it was finally condemned by the courts.
European observers, like many Tunisian organizations and politicians, have since called for Nabil Karoui to campaign fairly.
Many in the Tunisian political class see this 56-year-old businessman as a demagogue using his Nesma television channel for political purposes. His supporters, however, consider his arrest as the result of a conspiracy to remove him from power and marginalize the popular classes, which he says champion.
>> Read also: The legal puzzle around Nabil Karoui, candidate in prison
With AFP and Reuters