Police Detain Leader of Tunisian Opposition Ennahda Party

By Staff, Agencies

The Tunisian police have placed Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of the opposition Ennahda Party who is one of the main opponents of President Kais Saied, under arrest.

The police raided Ghannouchi's house in the capital Tunis on Monday, searching it before taking him to what the Ennahda described as an "unknown destination."

A senior police official said Ghannouchi had been brought in for questioning and his house was searched on the orders of the public prosecutor investigating "inciting statements."

"Ennahda denounces this extremely serious development and calls for the immediate release of Rached Ghannouchi," the party said in a statement.

According to Ennahda officials, Tunisian police raided the party’s main headquarters and started evacuating all present early on Tuesday.

One of the party officials, Riadh Chaibi, said the police showed a judicial warrant, took everyone out and began searching the headquarters.

The move marks an escalation in a campaign of arrests that has already targeted numerous high-profile opponents of the president.

Since early February, authorities in the North African country have arrested over 20 political opponents and personalities. They include politicians, former ministers, businesspeople, 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." Local and international rights groups have criticized the arrests.

On July 25, 2021, Saied launched a power grab, sacking the government, freezing the country's parliament -- known as the Assembly of the Representatives of the People -- and seizing wide-ranging powers.

He later gave himself powers to rule and legislate by decree and seized control over the judiciary, in what rivals saw as further blows to democracy.

The Tunisian president insists that his measures are meant to save the country from a civil war. Critics, however, have accused him of orchestrating a coup.

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 dubbed by opponents as a "coup."

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