A French student who was arrested and detained in Tunisia returns to Paris

PARIS -- A French student detained for weeks in Tunisia returned to Paris on Friday after weeks of top-level diplomatic discussions.

Victor Dupont, a 27-year-old completing a Ph.D. at Aix-Marseille University’s Institute of Research and Study on the Arab and Islamic Worlds, arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport on Friday afternoon, 27 days after he was arrested in Tunis.

“Obviously, we welcome this outcome for him and, most of all, we welcome that he is able to reunite with his loved ones here in France,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.

He announced the release at a ministry news briefing on Friday, saying that Dupont was freed Tuesday from prison and returned on Friday back to France.

Dupont, who researches social movements, youth unemployment and Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, was one of three French nationals arrested on Oct. 19. Authorities in recent years have arrested journalists, activists and opposition figures, but Dupont’s arrest garnered international attention and condemnation because of his nationality and because he wasn't known as a critic of the government.

A support committee set up to advocate for Dupont’s release told The Associated Press in October that Dupont and several friends were detained in front of Dupont’s home, then taken to a police station for questioning. Dupont was later taken alone into custody and taken to appear in military court in the city of Le Kef.

The arrest provoked concerns about the safety and security of foreigners in Tunisia, where rights and freedoms have gradually been curtailed under President Kais Saied.

Dupont's supporters, both at his university and in associations representing academics who work in the Middle East and North Africa, said that his research didn't pose any security risks and called the charges unfounded.

In a letter to Saied and Tunisia's Ministry of Higher Educations, associations representing French, Italian and British academics who work in the region said that Tunisia's government had approved Dupont's research and that the allegations against him “lack both founding and credibility.”

“We therefore condemn the extraordinary use of the military court system,” they wrote on Nov. 12.

Saied has harnessed populist anger to win two terms as president of Tunisia and reversed many of the gains that were made when the country became the first to topple a longtime dictator in 2011 during the regional uprisings that became known as the Arab Spring.

Tunisia and France have maintained close political and economic ties since Tunisia became independent after 75 years of being a French protectorate. France is Tunisia’s top trade partner, home to a large Tunisian diaspora and a key interlocutor in managing migration from North Africa to Europe.

A French diplomatic official not authorized to speak publicly about the arrest told The Associated Press in late October that officials were in contact with Tunisian authorities about the case. Another diplomatic official with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday that French President Emmanuel Macron had recently spoken to Saied twice about the case and said that it was the subject of regular calls between top level diplomats.

The others arrested along with Dupont were previously released.

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Sam Metz in Rabat, Morocco, and John Leicester and Angela Charlton in Paris, contributed to this report.