logo
Tunisian judge orders detention of prominent lawyer Souab, a critic of president

Tunisian judge orders detention of prominent lawyer Souab, a critic of president

The Star23-04-2025

A Tunisian flag flutters atop of the Palace of Justice building in Tunis, Tunisia May 13, 2024. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui/File Photo
TUNIS (Reuters) - A Tunisian judge on Wednesday ordered the detention of prominent lawyer Ahmed Souab, a fierce critic of President Kais Saied, lawyers said,‮ ‬two days after his arrest for comments about the judiciary.
Souab is among the lawyers acting for opposition leaders who received prison sentences‮ ‬on Saturday on conspiracy charges.
Souab strongly criticized the judge and the trial last week, calling the proceedings a farce and saying the judiciary had been destroyed.
(Reporting By Tarek Amara; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ukrainians face painful wait to learn if loved ones are among returned bodies
Ukrainians face painful wait to learn if loved ones are among returned bodies

The Star

timean hour ago

  • The Star

Ukrainians face painful wait to learn if loved ones are among returned bodies

BUCHA, Ukraine (Reuters) -Volodymyr Umanets, a 69-year-old security guard, hopes his son will be among the Ukrainian prisoners of war now being handed over by Russia, but he knows he could be part of a more sombre homecoming: the repatriated remains of dead soldiers. Not knowing which group his son, Sergiy, will be in is a torment. 'I am told to wait. What else is left for me to do?' said Umanets, as tears welled up in his eyes. This week Russia and Ukraine began implementing a deal reached at June 2 peace talks in Istanbul to hand over 1,000 prisoners of war each, and also a huge number of human remains. Alongside the joyful scenes of soldiers returning home and hugging loved ones, there have been macabre images of men dressed in hazmat suits transferring body bags from refrigerated trucks. Russia said it plans to hand over the remains of around 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers in this phase of the exchange. So far this week, it said it transferred 1,212 sets of remains, while Ukraine said it handed over the bodies of 27 Russian soldiers. Volodymyr Umanets's son Sergiy, 49, served in the army as a younger man and volunteered to rejoin shortly after the February 2022 full-scale invasion. He was serving in the Ukrainian military in south-eastern Ukraine when he went missing in combat in December 2023. His father, who works as a security guard in the town hall in Bucha, outside Kyiv, said he still hopes Sergiy is alive, and that he was captured by the Russian side. But he acknowledged the possibility that his son may have been killed. He gave authorities a sample of his DNA so that if Sergiy's remains are recovered, he can be identified. 'You know, I want to know at least something, to get at least some information,' he said. 'I read recently in the newspaper that a young man was declared missing. And during the exchange of bodies, his DNA was identified. He was buried today. I wish I knew at least this.' Each side has been handing over soldiers' remains periodically throughout the conflict, but the swap now underway is of an unprecedented scale. PAINSTAKING PROCESS For Ukraine, the repatriation of the remains marks the start of a long and painstaking process to identify who they are, how they died, and to notify their families. The task is made more complicated because sometimes the returned soldiers were killed in explosions so their bodies are in fragments, according to Djordje Alempijevic, a professor of forensic science at Belgrade University who helped examine the remains of people killed in conflicts in the Western Balkans in the 1990s. An added complication, he said, is that some of the remains have been stored for a long time, and they degrade, even if kept in refrigeration. In the best case scenario, the bodies are returned with some documents to help identification, said Dmytro Hapchenko, a local council official in Bucha who has worked on remains of people killed in the war. But he said that does not always happen. In fact, Ukraine has alleged that Russia's approach to processing the remains of Ukrainian soldiers has been haphazard. On June 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told reporters that in previous repatriations of remains, Russia handed over bodies to Ukraine that were actually dead Russian soldiers. Russia, in response, has accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying the exchange of the remains, stranding trucks with human bodies on the Russian side of the border, a claim denied by Ukraine. Absent any identifying documents for the returned remains, forensic pathologists will try to conduct an autopsy, said Alempijevic. He said they look for features like old bone fractures, dental characteristics, and metal plates or screws from old surgeries. Alempijevic, member of the UNSubcommittee for the Prevention of Torture, said autopsies also allowed pathologists to look for evidence of a war crime. Ukrainian prosecutors have alleged some Ukrainian soldiers were tortured in captivity, or summarily executed, and they are preparing criminal prosecutions. Russia has denied those allegations. Hapchenko, the Bucha city official, said he was supporting families from his area whose loved ones went missing in the fighting. 'Unfortunately, there are quite a few of them,' he said. Referring to the repatriation of fallen soldiers now underway, he said: 'Maybe now they'll be able to bury them.' (Additional reporting by Sergiy Karazy; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

Spanish PM's far-left ally wants 'reset' after corruption case
Spanish PM's far-left ally wants 'reset' after corruption case

The Star

time2 hours ago

  • The Star

Spanish PM's far-left ally wants 'reset' after corruption case

Spanish Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz gestures at an event in Madrid, Spain, June 13, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura/File Photo MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz, who leads the ruling coalition's far-left junior party Sumar, called for a "reset" of government on Friday after a corruption investigation forced out a close aide of the prime minister. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has apologised to Spaniards and promised an investigation of his Socialist Party but also resisted critics' calls for a snap election after Thursday's resignation of the party's number three Santos Cerdan. A Supreme Court judge has asked Cerdan to testify over accusations, which he denies, of being involved in the awarding of public works contracts for kickbacks. The fragile government has faced a series of scandals including a high-profile probe into whether Sanchez's wife Begona Gomez used her status to sway business dealings. "This legislature needs an authentic reset," Diaz told reporters. "We will demand right now a meeting of the government coalition ... the only possible way out is a U-turn to take the legislature towards social policies." Sumar pulls the coalition policies leftwards, pressing for less spending on defence and stronger worker protection, for instance. "Forgiveness is not enough," Diaz added, without specifying further what she wanted the government to do. Sanchez's coalition struggles to get any initiatives, such as budget bills, approved by lawmakers. A sombre-looking prime minister said in his address late on Thursday that he regretted trusting Cerdan. He took over as prime minister in 2018 after the biggest corruption investigation in Spain's democratic history netted scores of people linked to the then ruling People's Party, leading to the ejection of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Since then and after two elections in 2019 and 2023, Sanchez has ruled in minority coalitions. (Reporting by Inti Landauro and Corina Pons; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

Boca Juniors defender Costa denied US visa, misses Club World Cup
Boca Juniors defender Costa denied US visa, misses Club World Cup

New Straits Times

time3 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Boca Juniors defender Costa denied US visa, misses Club World Cup

London: Boca Juniors defender Ayrton Costa will miss the Club World Cup after being denied a visa to enter the United States due to a criminal complaint against him in his native Argentina, the club confirmed yesterday. In 2023, Costa accepted a probationary sentence to avoid trial for an aggravated robbery in 2018, which U.S. officials ruled that he is still serving. Criminal convictions are grounds for inadmissibility to the United States. The decision comes amid a broader crackdown by the Trump administration on issuing visas to some visitors and students. "We can confirm Ayrton Costa is set to miss the Club World Cup with Boca," a club spokesperson told Reuters. "The defender was due to travel on Wednesday night ... but did not obtain the visa." The U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires was not immediately available to respond to a request for comment emailed outside of normal business hours, it said in an automated reply.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store