a judge orders preventive detention against Ghannouchi, leader of the Islamist opposition

First modification: 04/20/2023 – 18:10

The worst omens for the opposition in Tunisia have finally come true. This Thursday, April 20, a judge ordered preventive detention against the Islamist opponent Rached Ghannouchi, after being detained by the Police last Monday night.

The politician is accused of allegedly conspiring against state security and the judge in charge of the case has considered that “it is not safe” to release him.

This is the “last show of repression against opponents of the president,” according to the defendant’s lawyer.

Ghannouchi, 81, the leader of the Islamist Ennahda party, was serving as speaker of parliament, dissolved in 2021 by President Kaïs Said, when he seized all powers and decided to rule by decree, before rewriting the constitution.

“We are facing another episode of political persecution through the courts. We do not have problems with the judiciary, we have a problem with the dictatorship. The struggle in Tunisia is one between democracy and dictatorship,” said the Ennahda Party in a message through social networks.

Ghannouchi was arrested after declaring that “Tunisia, without Ennahda, without political Islam, without the left or without any other form of opposition, is a project of civil war.”

His words were considered by the Prosecutor’s Office as a “provocation”, for which he ended up behind bars, during an arrest operation against anyone who criticizes the Government. A situation that has generated strong rejection by the United States and the European Union.

For Ennahda, Gannouchi’s statement “does not contain any calls for incitement or undermine civil peace”, since “he has spent most of his life resisting the dictatorship” – he was in exile during the regime of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and did not return to Tunisia until he was overthrown in 2011.

The political defender of Islam is not the only one who has been arrested, so far this year the Police have captured to more than 20 political personalities who have accused Said of being a “coup plotter” or “dictator”.

“I am optimistic about the future (…) Tunisia is free”, posted the match on Ghannouchi’s Facebook page, one of his last comments after the judge’s ruling.

At all times, Said has defended that all the measures he has taken to fully assume power are “necessary” to get Tunisia out of the strong economic and social crisis it is going through.

But his critics assure that these are “authoritarian” decisions and that they exceed the powers that were popularly conferred on him in the democratic elections of October 2019.

Criticism from the international community

The court decision to sentence Ghannouchi has been condemned by much of the international community. The United States said his detention, the closure of the Ennahda headquarters and the ban on meetings of opposition groups represent a “troubling escalation.”

“The Tunisian government’s arrests of political opponents and critics are fundamentally in contradiction with the principles embraced by Tunisians in a constitution that explicitly guarantees freedom of opinion, thought and expression,” said Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the Department of US State

The European Union also expressed its “concern” over the developments and insisted on the need for the Tunisian authorities to respect the diversity of the political spectrum.

“These elements are essential for any democracy and constitute the basis of the association of the European Union with Tunisia,” the agency said in a statement on Tuesday, April 18, one day after Ghannouchi’s arrest.

Other countries such as Malaysia or Türkiye have also expressed their reservations. The Turkish president, Recep Tayip Erdogan, assured that “if they had the opportunity” to speak with the Tunisian Executive, “they would express their disagreement.”

For its part, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for special consideration of Ghannouchi.

“Due to his health and age, we ask that special consideration and mercy be given to Mr. Rached Ghannouchi during this blessed month of Ramadan,” said Zambry Abdul Kadir, Foreign Minister of Malaysia.

Ennahdha, held the largest number of seats in the Tunisian Parliament before its dissolution. And Ghannouchi is an important figure in the resistance to the dictatorship, which is why his arrest has a strong symbolic weight.

Said has not commented on his arrest, but in the past he had already accused his political party of being “terrorist”.

In recent months, the opposition politician has appeared at least ten times before the Justice for different accusations, such as association and ties with Al Qaeda in Syria and Iraq, corruption or money laundering. Ghannouchi has denied all the accusations against him.

With Reuters, EFE and local media