On 31 December 2021, men in civilian clothing arrested former Justice Minister Noureddine Bhiri and Fathi Beldi, a former Interior Ministry employee, in Tunis and took them to undisclosed locations. Noureddine Bhiri is also the vice president of Ennahda which was the majority party in parliament until President Kais Saied suspended it in July 2021; he is the most senior Ennahda official to be arrested since that move. Neither men have been formally charged. Nor have they had any access to their lawyers or been granted the opportunity to challenge their detention before a judicial authority. They must be immediately released.
