According to different sources the Lebanese singer and composer might have angered the Tunisian authorities during a concert in Carthage in August during which he dedicated one of his songs to Arabs imprisoned in Israel and Arab countries. But the decision to inform him that he is no longer welcome came weeks after Marcel Khalife and prominent Arab intellectuals, such as Borhan Ghalioun and Elias Khoury, expressed support for the rights and political activists who went on hunger strike before and during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis in November 2005.

"It is unacceptable that artists who promote freedom are banned," said Said Akremi of the International Association to Support Political Prisoners. Said Akremi has recently been dispossessed of nearly ten books at Tunis Carthage Airport upon her return from an international seminar. Most of them on human rights.