Tunisia detains ex-PM for suspicions of sending jihadists to Syria

Tunis, Sep 21 (IANS) Tunisia's prosecution service on Tuesday detained Ali Larayedh, a former Prime Minister, on his suspicion of sending jihadists to Syria.Prosecutors decided to detain Larayedh, also vice-president of the Ennahdha Party after he was questioned for hours by investigators from the Interior Ministry for his suspicion of sending jihadists to Syria, Larayedh's lawyer Samir Dilou was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.Larayedh, who was prime minister from 2013 to 2014, will appear before a judge at the Judicial Center for Combating Terrorism (POLE) in the capital Tunis on Wednesday, Dilou said in a statement.A court hearing has also been scheduled for Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennahdha party and the speaker of the dissolved parliament in the same case, according to the lawyer.Ennahdha, also known as the Renaissance Party, categorically denied the allegations, according to local media reports.The recent arrests also included the former director general of borders and foreigners, a former security official at Tunis-Carthage International Airport, and four security agents, all on suspicions of involvement in networks to send Tunisians abroad to hotbeds of tension and terrorism.It was officially estimated that about 6,000 Tunisians traveled to Syria and Iraq last decade to join jihadist groups including Islamic State.
--IANS int/shs

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