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Rabat – Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi received widespread attention on Wednesday after falling for a tweet from a parody Twitter account of Ibrahim Ghali, the leader of the separatist Polisario group.
Jerandi, seemingly unaware of the account’s nature, replied to a tweet from the fake Ghali account that read: “Keep going brother, you’re doing a very good work.”
Jerandi’s reply said: “Thank you bro,” and was screenshotted and circulated before the minister deleted it and blocked the parody account.
The Tunisian Foreign Minister’s Twitter account is set to private at the time of writing, meaning only people already following him or those who are approved can see his tweets.
The Ghali parody account also shared the screenshot, sarcastically captioning it: “The Foreign Minister of Algeria’s Tunisia province is interacting with my excellency, long live the brotherhood.”
But this is not the first time someone has fallen victim to the same account.
The official account of Algeria’s press agency, Algerie Presse Service, also followed the account in late 2021, mistakenly believing the account to be real.
The Tunisian minister’s response shows a clear alignment with Algeria on the Western Sahara dispute, and making unfriendly statements towards Morocco.
This is in contrast to the stance of ex-president Moncef Marzouki, a vocal opponent of the current government, who said that Algeria has been standing in the way of a dream of a unified Maghreb by supporting Polisario and igniting tensions with Morocco.
Read also: Tindouf-Based Sahrawi Refugee Speaks out Against Brahim Ghali
In April 2021, Brahim Ghali was transferred to Spain using fake identity papers to receive medical attention, causing a diplomatic rift between Spain and Morocco.
Due to accusations of torture and other offenses, Ghali had found himself on Spain’s most wanted list, with various legal actions being taken against him in recent years.
One of the lawsuits Ghali ordered the Polisario to hold an individual hostage for 6 years without any due process, also accusing them of torture.
