Category: Politics

Interior Minister Kamel Feki met with United States Ambassador Joey Hood and his accompanying delegation at the headquarters of the Ministry on Friday. The meeting, which was attended by several ministry officials, reviewed areas of ongoing cooperation between the two countries, particularly those within the purview of the Department. Counter-terrorism, organised crime and irregular migration were highlighted, with an emphasis on the exchange of expertise and training initiatives, according to a Ministry press release. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani met on Friday at the Government Palace in Kasbah with ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Tunis Wan Li. The prime minister praised the long-standing and distinguished relations between the two countries and the diplomatic relations that date back to January 10, 1964. He highlighted Tunisia's keenness to further develop these relations in the interests of the two countries and peoples, as confirmed by President Kais Saied and his Chinese counterpart during their meeting at the China-Arab Cooperation Forum held on December 9, 2022. On the anniversary of the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Tunisia and China, the Prime Minister praised the level of Tunisian-Chinese cooperation, which was embodied in the achievement of a number of Chinese projects in Tunisia, such as the International Diplomatic Academy, the University Hospital in Sfax and the cultural and Youth Complex in Ben Arous. He expressed Tunisia's aspiration to further strengthen the partnership through new projects such as the renovation and restoration of sports facilities, including the El Menzah sports city, the Chedli Zouiten Stadium, the Belvedere swimming pool, the Olympic Stadium in Sousse, as well as studying the possibility of cooperation in major projects. Among these projects are Tunis-Carthage international airport expansion project, the high-speed rail project and the electric bus assembly project, in addition to other projects in the health sector. For his part, the Chinese ambassador noted the level of cooperation between Tunisia and China, stressing his country's readiness to continue joint work, upgrade the level of bilateral cooperation and support its future prospects. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The Bureau of the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP), which met on Friday at the Bardo Palace, decided to submit a series of bills to the plenary session. The Bureau examined the report by the Committee on External Relations, International Cooperation and the Affairs of Tunisians Abroad regarding the organic bill approving an extradition agreement for prisoners between Tunisia and Algeria. It decided to submit this bill to the plenary session on January 16, according to a Parliamentary press release. The Bureau also looked at a report from the General Legislation Committee on the bill amending decree-law No. 13 concerning penal reconciliation and the allocation of its revenues. It was unanimously decided to present this bill to the plenary session on January 16, 2024, starting at 2:00 pm. Furthermore, the ARP Bureau unanimously agreed to reconvene on February 26, 2024, ahead of the plenary session on the examination of the proposed legislation criminalising normalisation with the Zionist entity. O n this issue, members of the Bureau stressed the need to step up consultations among all the parties concerned before the plenary session. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The defence committee of president of the Free Destourian Party (PDL), Abir Moussi, said in a press release Friday it was drafting a petition to denounce a "corruption case against Moussi". The petition will be submitted to the Presidency of the Republic, the same source said. The committee had previously published data on the complaints lodged with the Ministry of Justice and the handling of the case by the Chief Examining Magistrate. It added that the president of the party, after taking note of these data, announced that she was "dealing with a case of corruption and not a political trial". Moussi's lawyers also said a request for permission to file a petition had been submitted to the President of the Tunis Court of First Instance, pointing out that the Ministry had refused to provide the lawyers with information on the complaints concerning "the gross violations committed in the case of Abir Moussi". Abir Moussi was arrested on October 3, 2023 in front of the registry office of the presidential pala ce in Carthage while she was preparing to file a complaint against published decrees on local elections. According to her defence lawyer, the PDL leader faces charges including "attempting to change the form of government", "inciting citizens to arm themselves against each other" and "provoking disorder on Tunisian territory". Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Families of the martyrs and wounded of the Revolution are holding a series of protests on the commemoration of the 13th Anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution, to demand a special law ensuring their rights, far from the provisions of the decree-law which led to the creation of the «FIDA» Foundation. They also called for consolidating the transitional justice process in Tunisia while taking into consideration all relevant legal texts. Speaking to TAP, on Friday, Coordinator representing these families, Abdelhamid Sghaïer, underlined that a press conference will be organized, next Sunday, to present a bill review the Decree-Law No. 2022 -20 relating to the «FIDA» Foundation. The bill was submitted to the parliament, he said, adding that MPs promised to submit it to the ARP office early next week. According to the coordinator, this bill provides for the deletion of articles related to the martyrs and wounded of the Revolution among civilians and to submit their files to the General Authority of Resistance F ighters, Martyrs and Wounded of the Revolution and Terrorist Operations, which falls under the Prime Ministry. The press conference, scheduled for Sunday, January 14, at the headquarters of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, will be attended by several civil society activists, the same source said. «Next Sunday, these families will observe a protest rally at Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis and call on relevant authorities to finish the transitional justice process,» he pointed out. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse