Photo by Gary Raynaldo  / UN Security Council Media stakeout chamber

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS –  NEW  YORK –     Tunisia temporarily released a United Nations official Tuesday after two months in detention for alleged spying as part of an investigation by an anti-terrorism unit. Moncef Kartas, a German-Tunisian dual national, is a member of the UN panel of experts investigating allegations of violations of an arms embargo and other sanctions imposed on Libya. Kartas was released on bail Tuesday following a review of the case by an appeals court in Tunisia. He was arrested on arrival in Tunis on March 26.  The UN vehemently disputed the government of Tunisia’s reasons for Kartas’s arrest and demanded charges be dropped and his immediate release, on the grounds the envoy is subjected to diplomatic immunity as a UN employee.  The Tunisian government accused Kartas of spying and illegally passing on secret information. However, Kartas’  family maintained  he was being investigated for allegedly possessing and disclosing intelligence information concerning national security to foreign governments.

“The UN confirms that Moncef Kartas was released from detention and that he is now at his home in Berlin in Germany,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.  “We are pleased to see that Mr. Kartas has been freed and is recovering at home.”

Diplomatic Times / H.E. Christoph Heusgen, Permanent Representative of Germany, UN Security Council comments on Kartas release. 

Security Council Media Stakeout (22 May 2019) -Informal comments to media by H.E. Christoph Heusgen, Permanent Representative of Germany, on the release of Moncef Kartas in Tunisia. UN diplomat Moncef Kartas, a German-Tunisian who was jailed nearly two months ago on suspicion of espionage, has returned to his home in Berlin.   But Tunisian authorities said their investigation “has not been closed.”

-Other Security Council News:

“Colonization Settlements Policy”  In GAZA Undermines  Prospect For Peace: UN 

Diplomatic Times /  (22 May 2019) Informal comments to the media by Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve, Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations, on the situation in Middle East. “We continue to focus on the situation in Gaza to find a way to put an end to the cycle of violence there. We are concerned about the pursuit of the colonization policy in the settlements in Gaza. This really, day after day, undermines the prospect for peaceful solution.”