Maghreb Edition

Tunisia: Former presidential candidate and media owner Karoui still in prisonF

Posted On 28 May 2021

Number of times this article was read : 528

Tunisia’s Qalb Tounes party, a member of the governing coalition, on Thursday demanded the release of its leader and media tycoon Nabil Karoui, who is in custody over money laundering allegations. Party lawmaker Oussama Khlifi told a news conference in parliament that Karoui was “hostage” to a “political ploy” and that his preventive detention since December exceeded the legal time of 23 days.

According to Tunisian law, suspects can be held in preventive detention for up to six months. A judge can extend the time but the suspect has a right to appeal.

Karoui is a business and media mogul whose party came second in October 2019 parliamentary elections and allied itself with the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party. President Kais Saied has accused the two parties of corruption.  During Karoui’s presidential election campaign that same year, he spent more than a month in prison over money laundering and tax evasion charges stemming from a 2017 investigation.

He was arrested again in December last year over the same affair. “We call for the immediate liberation of Nabil Karoui and an end to political harassment and forced detention,” Khlifi told reporters. Karoui is the founder of private channel Nessma TV, partly owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

AFP

Subscribe to Urgent Notifications and Newsletter

Most Recent Stories from the Region

North African Countries Among World’s Cheapest for Gasoline, Lead Global Rankings$

North African countries currently rank among the cheapest places in the world to buy gasoline, according to international price data published in late April 2026. The global average pump price for gasoline stood at around $1.49 per liter, while several North African producers were charging less than half that level. Libya, Algeria and Egypt all sit among the most affordable markets globally — though two non-African countries, Venezuela and Iran, rank between Libya and the rest of the African group in the worldwide table.

Libya: A drifting Russian gas tanker threatens the Mediterranean$

Since March 3, 2026, the Russian LNG tanker Arctic Metagaz, 277 meters long, has been drifting off the Libyan coast. Loaded with 62,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG), 900 tons of diesel, and 450 tons of heavy fuel oil, it poses the risk of an environmental disaster for the Mediterranean basin. Amid repeated failures to tow the vessel, accusations of Ukrainian sabotage, and the powerlessness of Libyan authorities, the Mediterranean is on high alert.

Written by The North Africa Journal

The North Africa Journal is a leading English-language publication focused on North Africa. The Journal covers primarily the Maghreb region and expands its general coverage to the Sahel, Egypt, and beyond, when events in those regions affect the broader North Africa geography. The Journal does not have any affiliation with any institution and has been independent since its founding in 1996. Our position is to always bring our best analysis of events affecting the region, and remain as neutral as humanly possible. Our coverage is not limited to one single topic, but ranges from economic and political affairs, to security, defense, social and environmental issues. We rely on our full staff analysts and editors to bring you best-in-class analysis. We also work with sister company MEA Risk LLC, to leverage the presence on the ground of a solid network of contributors and experts. Information on MEA Risk can be found at www.MEA-Risk.com.