Tunisian MPs are facing accusations that could result in the death penalty for attending an online session of the suspended parliament last week.
The Tunisian president described the meeting as a “failed coup attempt.”
Former MP Samir Dilou, who attended the session, was quoted by the French-language Realites website on Monday as saying that the legislators “attempted to modify the political system and to sow unrest.”
According to the Mosaique FM website, Abderazzek el-Kilani, the former dean of Tunisian lawyers, has declared the formation of a national committee to defend the MPs and raise public awareness about the “severe charges” they face.
After attending the online session last Friday, the anti-terrorism unit summoned many MPs, including Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of the Islamist Ennahdha party.
During the session, they agreed to overturn President Kais Saied’s extraordinary measures, which included the suspension of parliament, imposed last summer.
The president dissolved parliament after the meeting, calling it a “plot against the state’s internal and exterior security.”