TUNIS: Tunisia’s anti-terrorism police detained for one day Ali Laarayedh, a former prime minister and senior official in the opposition Ennahda party, after an investigation into suspicions of sending fighters to Syria, lawyers said on Tuesday.
In the same case, the police postponed the hearing of Tunisia’s opposition leader and speaker of the dissolved parliament Rached Ghannouchi to midday on Tuesday, after waiting for about 14 hours.
It is expected that Laarayedh will appear before a judge on Wednesday, lawyer Mokthar Jmayi said.
“We are shocked… the file is completely empty and without any evidence,” Samir Dilou, another lawyer said.
Ennahda denies accusations of terrorism, calling it a political attack on a foe of President Kais Saied.
Ghannouchi, 81, has accused Saied of an anti-democratic coup since he seized most powers last summer, shutting down the parliament and moving to rule by decree, powers he has largely formalised with a new constitution ratified in a July referendum.
Last month, several former security officials and two Ennahda members were arrested on charges connected to Tunisians travelling. Security and official sources estimated that around 6,000 Tunisians travelled to Syria and Iraq last decade to join fighter groups including IS. Many were killed there while others escaped and returned to Tunisia.
Meanwhile, Ennahda categorically denies the claims that its leader, Rached Ghannouchi, and Tunisia’s former prime minister Ali Laarayedh were involved in sending fighters to Syria and Iraq.
The accusations have resurfaced after President Kais Saied tightened his grip on the judiciary, following the suspension of the Ennahda-dominated parliament last year.
Ghannouchi had arrived at the headquarters of the anti-terrorism centre on Monday afternoon for questioning, according to a reporter in the capital Tunis, several hours after his deputy Laarayedh. – Reuters/AFP
