UNKNOWN
- Full name: Seifeddine Rais
- Pseudonym: N/a
- Alternatives: N/a
- Location: N/a
- Affiliation: Partisans of Shari’a in Tunisia [AST]
Seifeddine Raïs is a Salafi Islamist activist who joined the Partisans of the Shari’a in Tunisia [AST; Ansar Achariaâ] following the 2011 Tunisian Revolution. He soon became the movement’s chief spokesperson.1 In that capacity, Raïs represented the AST to the press. He also held a few meetings with the then Islamist governor of Kairouan.2 On May 19, 2013 Raïs was briefly arrested on accusations of inciting hatred and violence.3 In August of that year, he publicly declared support for the jihadi forces fighting in Iraq and Syria.4 Unlike most other AST leaders who fled Tunisia after the government had started cracking down on the movement, Raïs stayed in the country. He was briefly detained by police on Nov. 12, 2013.5
In July 2014, Raïs personally pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [DaIISh; Dawlat al-Islamiy fi-Iraq wal ash-Sham] and called on its fighters to ‘liberate’ Tunisia.6 That same month, he was twice arrested after the authorities had come to suspect him of recruiting Tunisians to fight in Iraq and Syria.7 In January 2015, a court ordered Raïs to pay a fine for having preached without permission.8 In October 2015, he was acquitted of several terrorism-related charges by a court.9 Raïs subsequently enrolled at the University of Kairouan.10 Police briefly detained him on Nov. 26, 2015.11 In December 2015, he was again arrested by security forces after he was found to be in close in contact with DaIISh-linked social media operatives.12 Raïs had also publicly praised the November 2015 attack on a bus carrying presidential guards.13
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