Tunisia's popular Presidential candidate denied release

Once again, Nabil Karoui will have to convince Tunisians to vote for him in the the second round of the presidential election from his prison cell.

Nabil remains in detention after the court rejected his request for release on Wednesday.

“The judge refused to rule, stating that he was incompetent,” said Kamel Ben Messoud, one of Nabil Karoui’s lawyers, who filed a request for his release on Tuesday.

Nabil Karoui’s lawyers intend to appeal, after the decision by the Tribunal.
Prosecuted since 2017, the media tycoon was arrested on 23 August for money laundering and tax evasion, 10 days before the start of the campaign.

The case caused an outcry in the political world and in the media, thus questioning the credibility of the Tunisian judiciary, while Karoui’s candidacy was validated by the election organization body.

Despite the setbacks with the courts, Karoui came in second place in the presidential election on Sunday with 15.58% of the votes, after Kais Saied at 18.4%. Depending on the time taken to process the appeals, the second round could be held between 6 and 13 October, according to the electoral commission.