A Tunisian court yesterday ordered the detention of a lawmaker accused of criticising President Kais Saied following recent floods, his lawyer told AFP.

Ahmed Saidani was taken into custody on Wednesday for “harming others via social media”, lawyer Houssem Eddine Ben Attia said.

Ben Attia said his client faced up to two years in prison under a telecommunications law, with his trial due to start on February 12.

Saidani posted on social media on Tuesday about Saied’s visits to areas affected by floods, calling him the “supreme commander of sanitation and stormwater drainage”.

At least five people died and others were still missing after Tunisia saw its heaviest rainfall in over 70 years last month.