Ennahda: Movement subjected to systematic targeting

The Tunisian Ennahda Movement said, on Thursday, that its leaders, especially its Head, Rached Ghannouchi, have been subjected to a campaign of systematic targeting for days. This campaign aims to pass the coup, legitimise it and divert attention from the economic crisis.

During a press conference at the headquarters of Ennahda in the capital, Tunis, the Movement’s spokesman, Imad Khamiri said, “This campaign is clear through arousing fabricated issues against the Movement, to pass the coup and legitimise it and divert attention from the economic and financial problems that Tunisia is witnessing.”

He added, “We expect that this campaign be intensified against Ennahda and its President in the upcoming days.”

Khamiri added that the coup authority demonstrated an inability in addressing the economic crisis. “We are in front of an authority that has no vision, other than gathering powers and talking about political issues to achieve individual rule and basic construction.”

He considered that the referendum on the new draft constitution does not have any legal and constitutional reference and was not built depending on the participatory path. Even the works of the Consultative Committee were not taken into account and it was ignored.

The Tunisian judiciary had issued several decisions relating to the interrogation of Ghannouchi in the case of the Namaa Tunisia Association. The judiciary also froze his bank accounts, along with nine other personalities, including the former Prime Minister, Hammadi Jebali.

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The Ennahda Movement described these decisions as an attempt by President Saied to take advantage of the judiciary, to liquidate his political opponents in the context of narrow electoral considerations that are explicit to everyone.

On Wednesday, the Regional Department of the Court of Auditors in Gafsa (south-west) issued first instance judgements (appealable) of cancelling the lists of the Ennahda and Heart of Tunisia parties in 2019 parliamentary elections in several constituencies in the centre and south-west. It also prevented the members of the two parties from participating in the elections for five years.

The Head of the Court of Auditors, Najib Al-Katari, told the local news agency that the decision is relating to the foreign financing in favour of the two mentioned parties, besides concluding a contract by Ennahda with American advertising companies.