The Brussels International Center is concerned about the continued imprisonment of Tunisian presidential candidate Nabil Karoui, preventing him from exercising his right to be a candidate and running his election campaign. The imprisonment of Nabil Karoui without conviction undermines the principle of equality of candidates and against popular will.
The Brussels International Center calls upon the Tunisian judiciary to release the candidate Nabil Karoui (based on principles of equal opportunities for the candidates), who is currently presumed not to be convicted by judicial order, to allow the Tunisian people to vote in the spirit, conscience and freedom of the candidate of their choice. As the candidate has the right to run his election campaign and to abide by the electoral rules equally to the other candidates. We also recall that political rights are fundamental rights guaranteed by the Tunisian Constitution since 2014.
The Brussels International Center reiterates its full support for the democratic transition in Tunisia, and congratulates Tunisians for conducting a transparent first round of the presidential elections. We are confident that the legislative and presidential elections scheduled for the coming weeks will take place in the best of circumstances.