Russians held in Tunisia on 'terrorism' allegations

MOSCOW: A group of 11 Russians detained in Tunisia last November are being held on allegations of "terrorism", the Russian embassy said Thursday, after police found them in possession of suspicious items, state media reported.

The group was found near the North African country's border with Algeria, Russia's RIA news agency reported.

It quoted the Russian embassy in Tunis as saying the grounds for their detention was "suspicions of involvement in terrorist activities".

None of them have faced any formal charges yet, though Tunisian authorities have confiscated "equipment" from them that allegedly did "not correspond to declared tourist purposes", RIA quoted the embassy as saying.

It was not clear exactly why they were arrested, as the embassy's statement Thursday offered the most information yet provided publicly on the case.

Russian state media described the group as "tourists" who were visiting Roman monuments in the municipality of Haidra on the Algerian border.

Tunisia is a popular tourist destination for Russians, in part because it is relatively cheaper than other destinations and offers visa-free travel.

But Haidra is not on regular tourists routes, though it is home to some of the oldest Roman ruins in northern Africa

Tunisia and Russia enjoy relatively stable relations, having agreed to develop their agricultural and energy ties in 2023.