Tunisia’s Ennahda slams interior minister’s 'terrorism' accusations  

Tunisia’s Ennahda yesterday said it was “astonished” at recent accusations levelled by Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine against the movement’s deputy chief, Noureddine Bhiri, adding that the chargers must “remain with the judiciary alone.”

The movement explained in a statement that Charfeddine’s remarks were confirming what it described as the “political nature of what Bhiri has been subjected to since his kidnapping last Friday.”

The statement described the minister’s behaviour as “returning the country to political tyranny.”

The movement called for the “unconditional release for Bhiri,” condemning his “kidnap and enforced disappearance” and stressing that the move “violated all international laws and treaties.”

It also renewed its rejection of “all decisions annulling the constitution,” noting that they reflected a “tendency toward absolute autocratic rule and a coup against constitutional legitimacy and the democratic path.”

Sixty-three-year-old Bhiri was taken to an unknown location by plain-clothed security officers on Friday. The senior Ennahda official is a lawyer and politician and was minister of justice between 2011 and 2013, then became a minister delegate to the head of government between 2013 and 2014.

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