Ghannouchi's daughter probe transferred to anti-terror judiciary

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The Public Prosecution Office in Tunisia transferred the investigation with Tasnim Ghannouchi, daughter of the head of the Ennahda movement Rached Ghannouchi, to the judicial pole for combating terrorism.

The transfer of the investigation with Tasnim Ghannouchi to the anti-terror pole comes after files and documents affecting national security were allegedly found in an apartment belonging to her.

A few weeks ago, Ghannouchi's defense committee confirmed that the head of the Ennahda movement refuses to respond to any invitations from the security authorities regarding any current or future file.

Ghannouchi, 81, whose party was the largest in parliament before Saied dissolved the chamber in July 2021, was arrested by police at his home in Tunis on April 17.

On April 20, a judge ordered that Ghannouchi be jailed ahead of his trial on charges of allegedly plotting against state security.

Ennahda Vice-President Mondher Lounissi told a press conference that Ghannouchi, one of the main opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saied, had been taken to a police barracks for questioning and that his lawyers had not been allowed to attend.

His arrest came after media reports in which he allegedly said in an opposition meeting that "Tunisia without Ennahda, without political Islam, without the left or any other component is a project for civil war."

A source at the Interior Ministry quoted by Tunisian media confirmed that Ghannouchi's arrest was linked to these statements.

In response, Ghannouchi considered that the authority is practicing political targeting through judicial means, adding that "the battle in Tunisia is between democracy and dictatorship that wants to confiscate the gains of the revolution."

In the aftermath of Ghannouchi's arrest, the Tunisian security forces shut down the headquarters of the Ennahda movement.

Since early February, authorities in the North African country have arrested more than 20 political opponents and personalities.

They have included politicians, former ministers, businessmen, trade unionists, and the owner of Tunisia's most popular radio station, Mosaique FM.

Saied, 65, claims those detained were "terrorists" involved in a "conspiracy against state security."

Ghannouchi was the speaker of Tunisia's parliament before Saied dissolved it and went on to seize wide-reaching powers through a series of moves opponents have dubbed a "coup".

He also appeared in court at the end of February on terror-related charges after being accused of calling police officers "tyrants".

Ghannouchi had already been in court last November over allegations his party had helped militants travel to Iraq and Syria.

Before that, he was interrogated over alleged money laundering in relation to foreign donations for an Ennahdha-linked charity.

Opponents of Saied accuse him of reinstating autocratic rule in Tunisia. After his dramatic power grab, he has since ruled by decree, and last year rammed through a constitution that gave his office unlimited powers and neutered parliament.

Ghannouchi was exiled for more than two decades under ousted President Zine El Abidine Ali but returned following the country's 2011 uprising.

Read more: Arrest of dissidents in Tunisia troubling: US State Dept.