Ennahda holds Tunisia’s president responsible for calls to protest against movement

By Amna El Yafarni

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) - Tunisia’s Ennahda Movement blamed President Kais Saied on Wednesday for calls to hold protests in front of its headquarters and in front of the home of its leader Rachid Ghannouchi.

The defense committee of Tunisian opposition figures Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, who were assassinated in 2013, announced earlier in the day that a protest rally would be held in front of Ghannouchi's house next Saturday and a sit-in in front of Ennahda’s headquarters the same day.

"President Kais Saied bears responsibility for the calls to demonstrate in front of the movement's headquarters and the home of our leader, Rachid Ghannouchi," movement spokesman Imad Khamiri said during a press conference.

At the same conference, the head of Ennahda's legal office, Zainab Brahmi, said Tunisia’s president is responsible for the safety of Ghannouchi and his family, the movement's headquarters and all its supporters.

"We will prosecute those accused of that crime (the assassinations of Belaid and Brahmi), in which we are not involved," she said.

Belaid was shot dead in front of his house on Feb. 6, 2013, and his assassination triggered a political crisis in the country.

An assassination was carried out against Brahmi on July 25 of the same year, which exacerbated the situation.

Ennahda vehemently denies any link to the two politicians' assassinations.

In July 2021, Saied dismissed the government suspended parliament and assumed executive authority amid mounting public anger over economic stagnation and political paralysis.

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

*Writing by Ali Abo Rezeg