TUNIS, Tunisia

A Tunisian opposition leader said he will appear before court after a judicial investigation was opened against him on charges of "disturbing public order.”

"I was informed a while ago by the Bar Association of a decision to refer me to the investigating judge of the Court of First Instance in Ben Arous over disturbing public order and disrupting the work of the government,” Ghazi Chaouachi, Secretary-General of the Democratic Current, said on his Facebook page.

The Democratic Current had 22 deputies in the 217-seat dissolved parliament.

Chaouachi alleged that the decision came following instructions of President Kais Saied and Justice Minister Laila Jaffal.

Although he did not provide more details about the accusations against him, Chaouachi told the private Shams FM on Thursday that Prime Minister Najla Boden has submitted her resignation, which Saied is yet to accept.

Chaouachi, 59, is a Tunisian lawyer who had previously served as Minister of State Property and Real Estate Affairs.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis since July 25, 2021, when Saied dismissed the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority, in a move decried by opponents as a “coup.” He later dissolved the parliament in March after lawmakers held a session to revoke his measures.

The North African country is also going through a severe economic crisis aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic amid the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine.

* Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar