Tunisia's Opposition Leader Fadhel Abdelkefi Banned From Travelling

The leader of the Tunisian opposition party and prominent critic of President Kais Saied announced on Wednesday he had been barred from leaving the country, without any prior notice. 

"This morning at Tunis-Carthage airport, I was banned from leaving the Tunisian territory without having been previously notified of any judicial decision," wrote Fadhel Abdelkefi, an economist and former minister.

According to this party, "this illegal measure is further evidence of the tightening of political control and the accelerated drift of the regime of President Kais Saied to a dictatorship".

Afek Tounes also denounced a "repressive procedure that is part of the instrumentalization of state apparatus to repress the opposition and target political figures".

According to AFP, when the Ministry of Interior was contacted to give more details about the issue, the Ministry of the Interior said it was not aware of this case.

President Saied, who has had complete authority since July 25, 2021, is accused by several NGOs and political parties of suppressing liberties in Tunisia and of attempting to bring back an authoritarian system.

The nascent democracy in Tunisia, the nation from which the Arab Spring revolts originated in 2011, has been disturbed by President Saied's attempt to consolidate his power.