Tunisia Issues International Arrest Notice for Former President

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The judge handling the case of former Tunisian President Mohamed Moncef Marzouki has issued an international arrest notice for the former president, Tunisian media reported Thursday, citing the office of the Tunis First Instance Court.

Moncef Marzouki was President of Tunisia from 2011-2014, and the judiciary decision comes after President Kais Saied asked the minister of justice on October 14 to probe all of those "conspiring against Tunisia abroad."

Saied saw statements Marzouki made on France 24 as a "national security threat" and directed the minister of justice to launch the probe.

"Those conspiring against Tunisia must be charged with conspiring against the state's security at home and abroad," Saied said, rejecting Tunisia's sovereignty being put on any foreign negotiation table.

At the time, Marzouki responded to Saied's decision by saying he was "not concerned with any decision the Tunisian authorities make against me," considering the Tunisian government "illegitimate."

The former president took pride in his actions that contributed to French officials refraining from holding the Francophonie Summit in Tunisia. The summit was meant to be held in Djerba, Tunisia on November 20.

Marzouki saw that holding the summit in a country that underwent a "coup" was a form of "supporting dictatorships and tyranny."