Tunisia opposition chief questioned all night by counter-terrorism police
Tunis, Tunisia – (AFP):
The leader of Tunisia’s progressive Islamic Ennahdha party has been questioned through the night over alleged complicity in the departure of militants for fighting in Syria and Iraq.
Rached Ghannouchi, who has been a key player in Tunisian politics for over a decade, appeared before a judge after being questioned overnight by specialist anti-terror police.
The 81-year-old, who had left the police station in Tunis at 6:30 am, is to be interrogated again on November 28, lawyer Samir Dilou said.
Ghannouchi dismissed all the allegations.
“The questions had no basis and there was no evidence for the accusations,” he told journalists.
“There are attempts afoot to neutralise a political rival.”
Ghannouchi was exiled for over two decades under late dictator Zine El Abidine Ali, but had returned following the country’s 2011 uprising to become a dominant figure in Tunisian politics — including as speaker of parliament.
He is a key rival of President Kais Saied, who suspended the legislature last year and later seized control of the judiciary.
Ennahdha categorically denies the accusations levelled at Ghannouchi and Tunisia’s former prime minister Ali Laarayedh, who was also questioned for hours on Monday and remained in detention.
Ghannouchi has now been summoned to appear before the judiciary’s counter-terrorism branch, his lawyer Samir Dilou revealed.
He had spent 12 hours waiting to be questioned at the police counter-terrorism unit before being told to come back the following day.
His party denounced the interrogation as “a form of torture” and part of “a total set-up”.
Ennahdha played a central role in Tunisia’s post-Ben Ali democratic politics until Saied began his power grab in July last year, which was followed by a controversial referendum granting unchecked powers to his office.
The party has accused the president of seeking “to use the judiciary to tarnish the opposition’s image” and “distract the public” from the North African country’s pressing economic woes.
In July, the same counter-terrorism unit questioned Ghannouchi in a probe into allegations of corruption and money laundering linked to transfers from abroad to the charity Namaa Tunisia, affiliated with Ennahdha.
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