Two senior members from Tunisia's Ennahda Party arrested

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Sep 2023 11:28

Two senior Ennahda Party officials are arrested after one had been on house arrest in the latest move against dissidents in the country.

The headquarters of the Ennahda party is pictured in Tunis, July 7, 2022 (AP)

The Tunisian police arrested two senior Ennahda Party members as part of a series of arrests against dissidents sweeping through the country, the party said Tuesday.

"The police arrested interim chief Munther Al-Wanissi minutes before arresting Abdul Karim Al-Harouni, who was put under house arrest this week," the Ennahda Movement revealed in a statement.

Al-Wanissi’s arrest comes after audio recordings attributed to him were published on social media, wherein he accused some officials in his party of seeking to control the party and receiving illegal funds.

The public prosecution launched an investigation into the recordings, while Al-Wanissi maintains that "the recordings were fabricated."

Al-Harouni heads the Ennahda Shura Council, the highest body in the party that was the largest political party in Parliament under President Kais Saied in 2021.

Tunis has been prosecuting the Ennahda party for months now, with a Tunisian court sentencing in Absentia the leader of the Ennahda party, Rached Ghannouchi, to one year in prison back in May.

The case in which Ghannouchi, 81, was accused is related to "glorifying terrorism" and describing security personnel as "tyrants".

The Ennahda leader served as the country's Parliament Speaker before President Kais Saied dissolved the body and assumed all authority in the country.

The leader of the Ennahda Party had decided not to appear before the judiciary, rejecting what he said were "fabricated political trials."

Ennahda Vice-President Munther Al-Wanissi told a press conference earlier that Ghannouchi, one of Saied's main opponents, had been taken to a police barracks for questioning and that his lawyers had not been allowed to attend.

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

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.