Algerian court detains Tunisian ex-presidential candidate Karoui

An Algerian court on Saturday ordered former Tunisian presidential candidate Nabil Karoui to be placed in custody on a charge of illegally crossing a border, a judicial source said.

The court in the eastern city of Constantine also ordered the detention of four Algerians on people-smuggling charges, the source said. They are accused of helping Karoui enter the country and provide a house for him before his arrest on Sunday.

Karoui, the owner of the Nessma television channel and head of the Heart of Tunisia political party, the second largest in parliament, was placed in custody along with his brother Ghazi Karoui.

A court in Tunisia had released Nabil Karoui on June 15 after he spent more than six months in custody on money-laundering and tax evasion charges.

Tunisia has been embroiled in a constitutional crisis since President Kais Saied this summer announced emergency measures, which he indefinitely extended last week.