Tunisia: Authorities close Ennahdha offices, Paris regrets ‘wave of alarming arrests’

There is growing concern about the political situation in Tunisia. On Tuesday, authorities closed offices across the country for the Islamist-conservative Ennahdha movement, a day after its leader, Rached Ghannouchi, was arrested. “The police arrived at the main headquarters of the party (in Tunisia) and ordered everyone to leave before shutting it down,” Ennahdha leader Riad Chaibi said.

“The police also closed the offices of other parties across the country and banned any gatherings there,” he added. In addition, the leader of the National Salvation Front (FSN), the main opposition coalition of which Ennahdha is a member, said police on Tuesday banned a press conference his group was going to hold to respond to the arrest. Ghannouchi.

Meetings at Ennhadha offices throughout the territory and at FSN offices in the Greater Tunisia region have been banned since Tuesday under the state of emergency in force, according to a circular from the Ministry of the Interior circulated to the media.

Without mentioning the arrest, President Said, speaking at a ceremony honoring the security services, called on justice to “take on its role at this juncture the country is going through.” “We are waging a relentless war against those who seek to undermine the state and its institutions,” he said.

“Caring” for Paris and Brussels

For its part, France, through the voice of Anne-Clair Legendre, spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, calls on the Tunisian authorities to “ensure respect for the independence of justice and the right to defence.” The opposition leader’s arrest “is part of a worrying wave of arrests,” the spokeswoman said, recalling Paris’s commitment to freedom of expression and respect for the rule of law.

Authorities have imprisoned more than twenty opponents and personalities since early February, including ex-ministers, businessmen and the owner of the country’s most popular radio station, Mosaïque FM. The arrests, exposed by local and international non-governmental organizations, were directed against leading political figures in the National Salvation Front (FSN), the main opposition coalition of which Ennahdha is a member.

The European Union, a key partner for Tunisia, said it was “following with great concern the latest developments” in the country, “in particular the arrest last night (Monday) of Rashed Ghannouchi, as well as information about the closure of the headquarters of the Ennahdha party in Tunisia”.

Brussels recalled “the importance of respecting the rights of the defence, as well as the right to a fair trial.” As for the closure of the Ennahdha premises, the European Union stressed the “fundamental principle of political pluralism”, considering that all these elements are “necessary for any democracy” and constitute “the basis of the European Union’s partnership with Tunisia”.