Turkey takes "necessary" measures against Ghoneim

CAIRO – 26 August 2017: The Tunisian Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish ambassador on Wednesday to protest the 'dangerous' remarks by Muslim Brotherhood leader and Islamic radical preacher Wagdy Ghoneim against Tunisian President Beju Qaid Al Sebsi.

A video footage that went viral in Tunisian showed Ghoneim verbally attacking Sebsi who called for gender equality in inheritance law and allowing Tunisian women to marry non-Muslims.

A state of anger prevailed among a wide number of Tunisian politicians and citizens toward Turkey and Ghoneim, who called Sebsi and members of The Assembly of the Representatives of the People as "disbelievers".

A Tunisian Foreign Ministry Wednesday statement said it had summoned the Turkish ambassador to express Tunisia's "severe condemnation" of Ghoneim's statement.

The ministry added that Ghoneim just took advantage of his residency in Turkey to attack the state of Tunisia and its symbols, urging Turkish authorities to quickly respond to the "shocking" remarks and take the necessary actions against him.

The current Tunisian law will not allow a Tunisian Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man, unless he converts to Islam, otherwise the marriage contract is not validated by the Tunisian authorities.

In April 30, an Egyptian court had sentenced Ghoneim to death in absentia for establishing an illegal organisation that incited violence against security forces.

The Egyptian authorities also presented memoranda to Interpol, asking them to arrest Ghoneim, who resides in Qatar and Turkey.

For his part, the Turkish ambassador asserted that his government is disturbed by Ghoneim's statements and rejects them completely. He added that Turkey refuses to be a territory to embrace any action against the Tunisian people and government.

Ghoneim is also on the list of Qatar-linked terrorists by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain, the countries which are boycotting Qatar.