The criminal chamber of Nabeul Court of First Instance, in Tunisia, has ordered the release of two students arrested Tuesday over a song condemning the country’s laws on drugs and treatment of youth by security forces. Their lawyer told local media Mozaique FM that the court rejected their bailout request to allow them to sit for their exam scheduled May 17-18. However, the court backtracked Thursday setting them free after President Kais Saied, during a meeting with Prime Minister Najla Bouden, laid into the detention of the young students. Also on Thursday, Faker Bouzghaya, the spokesperson for the ministry of interior, launched an administration probe into the arrest of the two youths. In 2021 a court sentenced four young men to 20 years in prison for forming a drug trafficking network in the capital.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 19, 2023 17:42 UTC