Ali Harzi was charged with "membership of a terrorist organization in a time of peace in another country."

Abbou told the Associated Press he quit his post because he had wanted to fight corruption, but had not been given enough authority by the prime minister to do so.

The smuggling of weapons has increased dramatically in the region since Libya’s Col Muammar Gaddafi and Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali were ousted last year in the Arab Spring revolts.

In a press conference Monday, the founder of Ennahda, Rachid al-Ghannouchi, said: “We do not want Tunisian society to be divided into two ideologically opposed camps, one pro-Sharia and one anti-Sharia. We want above all a constitution that is for all Tunisians, whatever their convictions.”