Rached Ghannouchi, the speaker of the dissolved Tunisian parliament, has been asked to appear at a police station on Tuesday following a series of arrests targeting critics of President Kais Saied. The head of the Ennahdha party, Ghannouchi has been accused of illicit funding and helping to send Tunisian fighters to Syria to support ISIL (ISIS) fighters. However, the party has denied these accusations and judges have decided not to detain him pending investigation.
Ennahdha, the largest party in the pre-dissolved parliament, has been a leading figure in successive coalition governments since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution. After winning the 2019 presidential election, Saied seized most powers in 2021, shutting down parliament and moving to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution. His opponents, including Ennahdha, have denounced his actions as an anti-democratic coup.
This month, police have arrested several major figures critical of Saied, raising fears of a wider crackdown on dissent and prompting the UN Human Rights Office to call for their immediate release. Abdelhamid Jelassi, a former politician from Ennahdha, was detained on the night of February 11 without police IDs or a warrant. Khayam al-Turki, a member of the centre-left Ettakatol (Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties) party, was taken from his house after midnight and is currently detained under terrorism laws from 2015. On February 13, police raided the home of Noureddine Bhiri, a senior Ennahdha official, as well as that of political activist and lawyer Lazhar Akremi.
The charges against those detained have not been made public, but Saied said last week that some of those arrested were “criminals who were plotting against state security”. Thousands of union members held protests across the country on Saturday and Sunday to denounce worsening economic woes and the arrest of a top union official, Anis Kaabi. Kaabi was arrested on January 31 after a strike by toll barrier workers, in what the union has described as “a blow to union work and a violation of union rights”. The powerful UGTT labour union has become increasingly vocal in opposing Saied and said on Monday that it would bring forward a protest in Tunis by one week to March 4.
Rached Ghannouchi, leader of Tunisia’s largest opposition party Ennahdha, has been asked to present himself at a police station in Tunis on Tuesday for questioning. The summons follows a series of arrests targeting critics of President Kais Saied that have raised concerns over free speech and political rights.
Ghannouchi was previously questioned several times last year on suspicion of illicit funding for Ennahdha and helping send Tunisian fighters to Syria to support ISIL (ISIS) fighters. The party has denied these accusations against Ghannouchi and judges decided not to hold him in detention pending investigation.
Ennahdha has played a leading role in successive coalition governments since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution which brought about democratic rule. However, after winning the 2019 presidential election, Saied seized most powers in 2021, shutting down parliament and moving to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution. His critics have denounced his actions as an anti-democratic coup.
This month, police have arrested several major figures critical of Saied including Abdelhamid Jelassi, a former politician from Ennahdha, who was detained on the night of February 11 without police IDs or a warrant. Khayam al-Turki, a member of the centre-left Ettakatol (Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties) party, was taken from his house after midnight and is currently detained under terrorism laws from 2015. On February 13, police raided the home of Noureddine Bhiri, a senior Ennahdha official, as well as that of political activist and lawyer Lazhar Akremi.
The charges against those detained have not been made public but Saied said last week that some of those arrested were “criminals who were plotting against state security”. This has sparked protests across the country by thousands of union members denouncing worsening economic woes and the arrest of a top union official, Anis Kaabi. The powerful UGTT labour union has become increasingly vocal in opposing Saied and said on Monday that it would bring forward a protest in Tunis by one week to March 4.
Rached Ghannouchi’s summons by police comes amid growing concerns over free speech and political rights in Tunisia following a string of arrests targeting critics of President Kais Saied. The head of the Ennahdha party and speaker of an elected parliament that Saied formally dissolved last year has been asked to present himself at a Tunis police station on Tuesday.
Ghannouchi was previously questioned several times last year on suspicion of illicit funding for Ennahdha and helping send Tunisian fighters to Syria to support ISIL (ISIS) fighters. However, the party has denied these accusations against Ghannouchi and judges decided not to hold him in detention pending investigation.
Ennahdha has been a leading figure in successive coalition governments since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution which brought about democratic rule. However, after winning the 2019 presidential election, Saied seized most powers in 2021, shutting down parliament and moving to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution. His opponents have denounced his actions as an anti-democratic coup.
This month, police have arrested several major figures critical of Saied sparking protests across the country by thousands of union members denouncing worsening economic woes and the arrest of a top union official, Anis Kaabi. The UN Human Rights Office has called for the detainees’ immediate release while Saied has said some of those arrested were “criminals who were plotting against state security”. The powerful UGTT labour union has become increasingly vocal in opposing Saied and said on Monday that it would bring forward a protest in Tunis by one week to March 4.
Rached Ghannouchi’s summons by police is likely to add to growing concerns over free speech and political rights in Tunisia following a string of arrests targeting critics of President Kais Saied. The head of the Ennahdha party and speaker of an elected parliament that Saied formally dissolved last year has been asked to present himself at a Tunis police station on Tuesday.
Ghannouchi was previously questioned several times last year on suspicion of illicit funding for Ennahdha and helping send Tunisian fighters to Syria to support ISIL (ISIS) fighters. However, the party has denied these accusations against Ghannouchi and judges decided not to hold him in detention pending investigation.
Ennahdha has been a leading figure in successive coalition governments since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution which brought about democratic rule. However, after winning the 2019 presidential election, Saied seized most powers in 2021, shutting down parliament and moving to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution. His opponents have denounced his actions as an anti-democratic coup.
This month’s arrests have prompted protests across the country by thousands of union members denouncing worsening economic woes and the arrest of a top union official, Anis Kaabi. The UN Human Rights Office has called for the detainees’ immediate release while Saied has said some of those arrested were “criminals who were plotting against state security”. The powerful UGTT labour union has become increasingly vocal in opposing Saied and said on Monday that it would bring forward a protest in Tunis by one week to March 4.
Rached Ghannouchi’s summons by police is likely to add further tension to an already tense situation in Tunisia following a string of arrests targeting critics of President Kais Saied. The head of the Ennahdha party and speaker of an elected parliament that Saied formally dissolved last year has been asked to present himself at a Tunis police station on Tuesday for questioning.
Ghannouchi was previously questioned several times last year on suspicion of illicit funding for Ennahdha and helping send Tunisian fighters to Syria to support ISIL (ISIS) fighters. However, the party has denied these accusations against Ghannouchi and judges decided not to hold him in detention pending investigation.
Ennahdha has been a leading figure in successive coalition governments since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution which brought about democratic rule. However, after winning the 2019 presidential election, Saied seized most powers in 2021, shutting down parliament and moving to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution. His opponents have denounced his actions as an anti-democratic coup.
This month’s arrests have sparked protests across the country by thousands of union members denouncing worsening economic woes and the arrest of a top union official, Anis Kaabi. The UN Human Rights Office has called for the detainees’ immediate release while Saied has said some of those arrested were “criminals who were plotting against state security”. The powerful UGTT labour union has become increasingly vocal in opposing Saied and said on Monday that it would bring forward a protest in Tunis by one week to March 4.
Rached Ghannouchi’s summons by police is likely to add further fuel to an already tense situation in Tunisia following a string of arrests targeting critics of President Kais Saied. The head of the Ennahdha party and speaker of an elected parliament that Saied formally dissolved last year has been asked to present himself at a Tunis police station on Tuesday for questioning.
Ghannouchi was previously questioned several times last year on suspicion of illicit funding for Ennahdha and helping send Tunisian fighters to Syria to support ISIL (ISIS) fighters. However, the party has denied these accusations against Ghannouchi and judges decided not to hold him in detention pending investigation.
Ennahdha has been a