The Tunisian Interior Ministry denied, on the evening of Thursday, May 12, 2022, the arrest of Hamadi Jebali, claiming that the former prime minister insisted on accompanying his wife who was summoned for investigation, while "Ennahda" held the current authority fully responsible for the physical safety of the movement's leader.

Media outlets circulated, on Thursday evening, the news of the arrest of the former prime minister Hamadi Jebali by a security force after raiding an industrial workshop he owns.

Within a few hours, the Interior Ministry issued a statement denying Jebali's arrest, indicating that the public prosecution requested investigating his wife after the police found dangerous materials in a factory he owns, in addition to employing Africans without residency permits.

The Interior Ministry confirmed that the former prime minister was not detained and that he insisted on accompanying his wife to a police center.

It added that three bottles containing acetylene, listed in the hazardous materials schedule, two electric furnaces, and other flammable materials were found inside the factory.

For its part, Ennahda movement, according to a statement it issued, held the current authority fully responsible for protecting the physical safety of the former prime minister and 2019 presidential candidate, Hamadi Jebali.

The movement called for his immediate release and for stopping the terrorizing of political opponents and the attempt to fabricate malicious charges against them, respecting law, rights, and personal freedoms.

It also strongly condemned the abuse of a symbol of the state, especially after the positive stance announced by Hamadi Jebali from the National Salvation Front opposing the coup.

It pointed out that Hamadi Jebali's private workshop was raided without any judicial authorization, and the workers there were terrorized despite showing the security forces the license to operate, and invoices for all materials and equipment used, yet he was taken to an unknown location.

Kais Saied dissolved the parliament and appointed a temporary Higher Judicial Council after assuming executive authority last summer. Since then, he has ruled by decrees, moves condemned by his opponents who consider them a coup.

On the other hand, Saied said his actions were legal and necessary to save Tunisia from total collapse, and he seeks to draft a new constitution instead of the one approved after the 2011 revolution, saying he will put it to a referendum on July 25, 2022.