By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Eleven Russian nationals held on allegations of “terrorism” in Tunisia have been released and repatriated to their country, Russian state media reported on Friday.
The group, detained since November last year, was found near the North African country’s border with Algeria.
The detainees were reportedly on a “sightseeing” tour of Roman monuments in the municipality of Haidra on the Algerian border, where there were tensions due to the presence of “terrorist cells”, according to the Russian embassy in Tunis.
Tunisian police, however, allegedly confiscated equipment found on them which did “not correspond to declared tourist purposes”.
Authorities in both countries did not disclose further details about the case. Tunisia held them on suspicion of “involvement in terrorist activities”, but they were not formally charged.
On Friday, Russia’s TASS news agency reported that they had been released and would leave the country, citing the Russian embassy.
“Tickets have been purchased for them, they will leave during the day on two flights,” the embassy said.
Although Tunisia is a popular destination for Russians due to visa-free travel and relatively low costs, Haidra is not on regular tourist routes, the French news agency AFP reported earlier.
Haidra is, however, home to some of the oldest Roman ruins in northern Africa.
Earlier in the week, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had released three American nationals convicted in connection with their roles in a failed coup in the country last year.
The trio were initially sentenced to death by a military court, but their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.
Marcel Malanga Malu, Tylor Thomson, and Zalman Polun Benjamin left the DRC on Tuesday to serve the remaining part of their sentences in the US, Congolese presidential spokesperson Tina Salama said.
