Tunisia’s Ghannouchi discharged from hospital after medical checks

By Yousra Ounes

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – Tunisia’s Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi was discharged from hospital after conducting medical checks, the moderate Islamist Ennahda party said.

The party said in a statement that Ghannouchi was admitted to hospital on Saturday after feeling ill.

Ghannouchi "left the hospital after conducting medical checks and receiving treatment,” the statement said.

His adviser, Maher Medhioub, also confirmed on Twitter that the parliament speaker was in good health, but without giving any further details.

Last month, Ghannouchi was hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Last week, Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissed the government of Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, froze the parliament, and assumed executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister.

The Tunisian president insists that his exceptional measures are meant to "save" the country while his critics accuse him of orchestrating a coup.

Tunisia is seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among a group of Arab countries that witnessed popular revolutions that toppled their ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara