According to Ennahda party leaders, opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi has been arrested and his party’s office has been seized by Tunisian police. Ghannouchi’s home was searched by police on Monday night, and after a search, he was taken to a “unknown destination,” according to party authorities. They started their assault on Ennahda’s headquarters few hours later. Several prominent opponents of President Kais Saied of Tunisia have been imprisoned by authorities. In 2021, the former law professor who had been elected in 2019 as a result of public rage against the political elite fired the government, suspended parliament, and assumed control of the court.
The public prosecutor investigating “inciting statements” reportedly had Ghannouchi arrested for interrogation and his home searched, according to a senior police officer who spoke to the Reuters news agency. The prosecutor will decide what to do next, the spokesman said. After longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was deposed in 2011, Ghannouchi was repeatedly questioned by the judiciary over the course of the past year on charges related to Ennahda’s finances and allegations it enabled Tunisians to leave the North African country and join ISIL (ISIS) and other armed groups. Former prime minister and current vice president of Ennahda Ali Laarayedh was arrested in December on identical charges. The allegations are refuted by Ghannouchi and his party. His supporters have portrayed Monday’s move as more severe than previous detentions for interrogation and subsequent releases involving the 81-year-old. Nejib Chebbi, Ghannouchi’s attorney, told the Associated Press that his client had been transferred to the El Aouina jail in the city’s eastern outskirts. Ennahdha issued a statement demanding his release, stating the group “condemns this very dangerous development.” He was reportedly arrested by counterterrorism authorities looking into his recent “provocative” statements, according to the official TAP news agency in Tunisia.
It gave no further details. Ghannouchi spent time in prison for his political beliefs in the 1980s, went into exile in the 1990s, and then returned to Tunisia after the 2011 democratic uprising. His tenure as leader saw Ennahda join many governing coalitions with secular parties, signaling a shift towards the political center. After the elections of 2019, he was elected as the speaker of parliament. Since President Saied took wide powers, arguing it was essential to preserve Tunisia from years of upheaval, Ghannouchi has emerged as his most vocal adversary.
