The Tunisian Ministry of Interior 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 the "Ennahda" movement held the current authority fully responsible for the physical safety of the leader in the movement.

Media circulated, on Thursday evening, news of the arrest of the former prime minister Hamadi Jebali after a raid on an industrial workshop he owns.

Within a few hours, the Ministry of Interior issued a statement denying Jebali's arrest, indicating that the public prosecutor requested investigation with his wife after the police found hazardous materials in a factory he owns, in addition to employing Africans who do not have residence permits.

The Ministry of Interior confirmed that the former prime minister was not detained but insisted on accompanying his wife to a police station.

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

On its part, the 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 demanded his immediate release and to stop terrorizing political opponents and attempting to fabricate malicious charges against them, respecting the law and personal rights and freedoms.

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

It pointed out that the workshop of Hamadi Jebali was stormed without any judicial permission, and the workers were terrorized despite showing the security teams a license to practice the activity and invoices for all the materials and equipment used, yet he was taken to an unknown location.

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

Meanwhile, Saied said his actions were legal and necessary to save Tunisia from total collapse, and he is seeking to draft a new constitution instead of the one ratified after the 2011 revolution, and he says he will present it for a referendum on July 25, 2022.