Former PM Laarayedh imprisoned on false charges by Saied regime: Ennahda

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – Tunisia’s mainstream opposition party Ennahda has said that former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh has been imprisoned on false charges.

The former PM was accused of “sending Tunisians to conflict zones abroad.”

In a statement, Ennahda termed the decision a “systematic targeting” of Laarayedh and an attempt by Tunisian President Kais Saied “to cover up his big failure” in the recent parliamentary elections.

Tunisian voters cast ballot in parliamentary elections on December 17, with voter turnout recording only 11.2 percent.

The vote was the latest step in a series of exceptional measures taken by Saied, which started in July 2021 with ousting the government, dissolving parliament, and drafting a new Constitution.

Ennahda remains Tunisia’s largest and most popular political group. Led by the veteran progressive Islamic scholar and leader Rached al Ghannouchi, Ennahda has been marginalized and disempowered by the current regime.

Ennahda called on the Tunisian authorities to free Laarayedh, who had served as prime minister from March 2013 to January 2014.

“Ennahda leaders have no relation to the issue of sending Tunisians to conflict zones,” the movement stressed.

“Targeting opposition leaders will not improve the living conditions of Tunisians and will not end the lack of foodstuffs or soaring prices,” Ennahda said.

Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis that aggravated the country’s economic conditions since last year.

While Saied insists that his measures were meant to “save” the country, critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup and derailing the democratic process. The Ennahda Movement leads the resistance to Saied’s authoritarian policies and practices.