Chaima Issa: Tunisian prosecutors block release of opposition politician

Tunisia's public prosecutor has appealed against a judge's decision to free a prominent opponent of President Kais Saied, her lawyer said on Friday.

This means that Chaima Issa will now not leave prison on Friday and instead will await a final decision by the indictment division – a legal body in charge of reviewing appeals – which should come within 15 days, lawyer Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddek told The National.

Ms Issa was arrested in February after being accused of plotting against state security.

“It [the prosecution appeal] is a big deception, we were hoping that justice will prevail and those who were right to retrieve their right, but unfortunately that did not happen,” Ms Msaddek said.

Ms Msaddek could not provide further details on the case due to a non-disclosure agreement, as the case remains active.

Ms Issa is a prominent leader in the National Salvation Front, the main opposition coalition to Mr Saied.

She has organised protests against the President since he took additional powers in 2021 and shut down parliament.

Judges have detained more than 20 political, judicial, media and business figures with opposition ties in recent months, accusing them of plotting against state security.

Tunisia's President Kais Saied has called opposition-linked detainees 'terrorists' and 'traitors'. Reuters

Mr Saied has called the detainees “terrorists” and “traitors”.

He said judges who free them would be abetting their alleged crimes.

The main opposition parties have condemned the arrests as being politically motivated. Rights groups have urged authorities to free those detained.

Mr Saied has moved to rule by decree, a step described as a coup by the opposition.

He says his stance is legal and necessary to save the country from years of chaos and corruption.

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Rating: 3/5

Farage on Muslim Brotherhood

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if you go

The flights

Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.

The hotel

Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850

Events and tours

There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com

For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.

More information

For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com

Saudi National Day

Meet the Saudi citizens for whom the UAE is a home from home

Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

MATCH INFO

Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')

Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)

Drishyam 2

Directed by: Jeethu Joseph

Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy

Rating: 4 stars

'Laal Kaptaan'

Director: Navdeep Singh

Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain

Rating: 2/5

Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.