The former head of Tunisia’s Anti-Corruption Committee, Chawki Tabib, said on Friday that he has been placed under house arrest.

Mr Tabib, who disclosed hours after security forces took control of the commission’s headquarters, was the head of the independent authority from 2016 until he was dismissed by former Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh in 2020.

“A security patrol stationed in front of my house informed me that a decision was issued to place me under house arrest … in violation of my right guaranteed by law and the constitution,” Mr Tabib said on Facebook.

The interior ministry was not immediately available to comment.

Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissed the prime minister last month, froze parliament, and assumed executive authority in a sudden intervention that his Islamist opponents have labelled a coup.

The move won widespread popular support, but also raised concerns among some Tunisians about the future of the democratic system that the country adopted after its 2011 revolution that triggered the Arab Spring.

Earlier on Friday, security forces cordoned off the headquarters of the Anti-Corruption Committee and evacuated its employees, in what appears to be an attempt by the authority to protect any corruption files.

Mr Saied, who was elected in a landslide in 2019 and vowed to stand up against graft, said gangs involved in corruption in all sectors must be held accountable.

Last week, officials in the phosphate industry were arrested over suspected corruption.

(Reuters/NAN)