Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: After being accused of calling police officers “tyrants”, Tunisia’s former parliamentary speaker Rached Ghannouchi appeared in court Tuesday on new terror-related charges, his party said.
Ghannouchi, who leads President Kais Saied’s arch-foes the Ennahdha party, had faced court in November, last year, over allegations that his party aided jihadists to travel to Syria and Iraq.
The latest hearing comes as a number of high-profile figures have been arrested, which has prompted criticism from rights groups within the North African country and abroad.
The ex-speaker is also scheduled to be quizzed on Thursday after another complaint from a police officer claiming to have a compromising telephone recording of Ghannouchi in his possession, Ennahdha said.
Upon arriving at the anti-terrorism court, Ghannouchi said Tuesday (21 February), “These charges have been fabricated out of nothing… (and) target the opposition” without evidence.
The Ennahdha leader accused the authorities of “instrumentalizing justice” and seeking to “cover up Tunisia’s real problems”.
Leader of Tunisia’s main opposition coalition denounces moves against Ghannouchi
Meanwhile, the leader of Tunisia’s main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, denounced the “judicial relentlessness” targeting Ghannouchi.
Outside the court, while speaking to AFP, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi said, “It is a short-sighted policy in the face of economic and social failures and the international isolation” of the authorities.
Chebbi added, “Repression has never stemmed the flow of freedom.”
Ghannouchi was the Tunisian parliament’s speaker before Saied dissolved it in July 2021 and went on to grab wide-reaching powers through a set of moves termed by opponents as a “coup”.
Around 10 public personalities have been arrested since the beginning of February in the country.
