Tunis arrests eight former officials in corruption case

TUNIS, Oct 26 Reuters - A former Tunisian agriculture minister and seven other ex-officials have been detained on suspicion of corruption, judicial authorities said, the latest move against corruption that has hampered economic reform efforts.

Since President Kais Saied seized parliament and dismissed the country in July in a move critics called a coup, he has vowed to root out systemic corruption.

Last week, lawmaker Saied was arrested over suspected tax fraud and money laundering - the fourth parliamentarian to be taken into custody since Mehdi Ben Gharbia's move.

A statement from the Tunis court said the arrest of the eight former officials was related to suspected graft in the purchase of equipment for the agriculture ministry. The name of the former agriculture minister was not immediately released.

But critics have labelled it a coup that has undermined the gains made since the 2011 revolution in the country, which ended autocratic rule and triggered the Arab Spring.