“WADA has removed, with immediate effect, the National Anti-Doping Agency of Tunisia (Anad) from the list of non-compliant signatories to the World Anti-Doping Code,” she said in a press release. The global anti-doping policeman explained that he had received “confirmation that the required government decree had entered into force” on May 2, two days after the imposition of sanctions against Tunisia. These sanctions led to a cascading series of events in Tunisia.
The general director of Anad, Mourad Hambli and the president of the Tunisian Swimming Federation (FTN) are in detention and an investigation has been opened against them for hiding the Tunisian flag. Indeed, during the Tunisian Open Masters, a swimming competition bringing together around twenty countries, the national flag was hidden by a fabric to comply with WADA sanctions.
But this concealment of the national flag shocked Tunisian President Kais Saied, who also ordered the dissolution of the office of the National Swimming Federation and the dismissal of officials. In this case, nine people including the two sports leaders are being prosecuted for “attacking the flag of Tunisia”, “forming a gang (organized) to commit attacks and cause disorder” as well as for “conspiracy against internal security ” of State.
WADA had justified its decision against Tunisia by its “inability to fully implement the 2021 version of the world anti-doping code within its legal system”. The sanctions included preventing the North African country from hosting regional, continental or world championships on its soil.
In addition, Tunisia was banned from raising its flag at the Olympic and Paralympic Games which will be held this summer in Paris, until its reinstatement by WADA. In total, there are now three non-compliant signatories to the global anti-doping code: the National Olympic Committee of Angola, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency and the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation.
