Tunisian Police Detain Opposition Leader, Raid Party HQ

Facts

• After Tunisian authorities on Monday arrested Ennahda Party leader Rached Ghannouchi, one of the most prominent critics of Tunisian President Kais Saied, police raided the party's main headquarters on Tuesday.¹
• The party said the police, after showing a judicial warrant, emptied the headquarters to begin a search that will take days. It was also reported that three other party officials — Mohamed Goumani, Belkacem Hassan, and Mohammed Chnaiba — were taken into custody.²
• The arrest followed media reports that he allegedly said Tunisia could face "civil war" if political Islam, the primary ideological component of his party's platform, was eradicated. A source at the interior ministry says his arrest is linked to the alleged statements.³
• Ghannouchi has been repeatedly questioned over the past year regarding Ennahda’s finances and allegations that it enabled Tunisians to leave the country and join ISIS after longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in 2011 during the Arab Spring.⁴
• Since February, a number of politicians, former ministers, businessmen, trade unionists, and the owner of Tunisia's most popular radio station, Mosaique FM, have been arrested by local authorities. Pres. Saied said those detained were involved in a "conspiracy against state security."⁵
• Saied also suspended parliament in July 2021 before holding a referendum this past summer, allowing him to change the constitution. He has continually defended his actions as necessary against a backdrop of civil unrest and an unstable economy.¹

Sources: ¹DW, ²Asharq AL, ³Naharnet, ⁴Al Jazeera, and ⁵France 24.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Guardian. President Saied is, yet again, using his power to strengthen his iron grip over Tunisia. Though he's said that he doesn't want to become an autocrat, his unscrupulous actions speak far louder. Using the growing pains of Tunisia's young democracy as a pretext, he has taken over the North African nation and is cracking down on dissent to guarantee his control over civil society. A national dialogue must be undertaken to save Tunisian democracy and align it with the norms of the international community.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Mayadeen English. Tunisians are tired of the corruption and dysfunction brought by the country's post-Arab Spring parties, namely the Islamist Ennahda party. Ennahda, which dominated Tunisian politics over the last 10 years, has worked against the Tunisian people. The country was on the brink of collapse before Saied dissolved parliament, and his actions were and continue to be necessary to maintain order and stability.