Tunisia has issued an international arrest warrant for Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, who served as the country's interim president between 2011 and 2014, according to a judicial source cited by state media TAP.
The development comes weeks after his successor, Kais Saied, declared Marzouki an enemy of the state and revoked his diplomatic passport. Saied's decision followed Marzouki calling on France to end its support for the North African country under the current president's leadership.
The former president, who is currently in France, has described Saied's government as a "dictatorial regime" and said that Paris should "reject any support for this regime and this man who has plotted against the revolution and abolished the constitution".
Shortly thereafter, Saied asked the Tunisian justice minister to launch a probe into claims that Marzouki had conspired against state security.
“I will withdraw his diplomatic passport because he is among the enemies of Tunisia. He cannot use this privilege to visit capitals and damage Tunisian interests. Tunisia is a free and independent state and there can be no interference in its affairs. Some have used refuge abroad to attack Tunisian interests”, Saied said last month.
President Saied unveiled a new government on 11 October, months after he dismissed the prime minister, froze parliamentary activities, and took over the judiciary. In late September, he announced that he would rule by decree, brushing aside parts of the country's constitution in a move that sparked protests in Tunis. Thousands of Saied supporters also held counter-protests to back his policies, which they hoped would lead the country out of years of economic stagnation and political paralysis.