Tunisia detains Ennahda deputy chief Ali Laarayedh

By Yousra Ounass
TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – Tunisian judicial authorities on Tuesday detained Ennahda deputy leader Ali Laarayedh after an investigation into terrorism accusations, according to his defense lawyer.

Laarayedh and Ennahda chief Rached Ghannouchi were questioned on Monday on suspicions of sending Tunisians to hotspots overseas.

“The detention of Laarayedh is unfortunate and scandalous after 15 hours of investigation,” lawyer Samir Dilou told reporters.

It is expected that Laarayedh, a former interior minister, will appear before a judge on Wednesday.

Ghannouchi, meanwhile, is expected to be questioned on the same accusations later Tuesday.

Ennahda movement, for its part, decried the circumstances of the investigation as “a form of torture and abuse on fabricated accusations."

Last week, the private Radio Mosaique, citing informed sources, said that judicial authorities have given permission to the relevant security body to take necessary measures to investigate the suspicions with "involved politicians, former security officials, lawyers and heads of charity organizations."

According to local media, arrest warrants were issued against three former security officials, former parliamentarian Reda al-Jawadi, businessman Mohamed Frikha and cleric Bechir ben Hasan.

The Ennahda party termed the warrants as “random arrests" aimed at defaming the image of the party and its figures.
Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political crisis that aggravated the country's economic conditions since last year, when President Kais Saied ousted the government and dissolved parliament.

While Saied insists that his measures were meant to "save" the country, critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report