Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda party, has appeared in court for questioning by the counterterrorism prosecutor.
He’s being probed for allegations of corruption and money laundering connected to a charity that’s linked to Ennahda.
According to Ghannouchi, the accusations leveled against him and his party are driven by politics.
With a referendum on altering the constitution scheduled to take place this month, Ennahda has been at the forefront of the resistance against President Kais Saied, who has essentially imposed one-man rule.
Last week, News Central reported that the Ennahda party rejected President Kais Saied’s proposed new constitution and called on its members across the country to boycott a referendum later this month.
While addressing newsmen in Tunis, the party’s spokesperson, Imed Khemeri, stated that the vote was “not in the interests of Tunisians”.
In 2020, the UK High Court ruled in favour of Ghannouchi, in a libel case against Middle East Online and its editor Haitham El Zobaidi.
The Middle East Online (MEO) and one of its editors had claimed that Ennahda “supported terrorism”, a charge Ghannouchi “vigorously denied”. According to Ahmed Yusuf, the article was part of a “”a systematic campaign” against Ghannouchi from media backed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt.