Tunisia: Ghannouchi goes to court as rights groups reject referendum

The speaker of the Tunisian parliament, Rached Ghannouchi, will appear in court today in the case involving the Namaa Tounes development association. This follows the decision by the Indictment Chamber of the Tunis Court of Appeals to return the file to the investigating judge and question the head of Ennahda Movement.

Namaa Tounes is a not-for-profit organisation, established in Tunisia in 2011. It works to “attract investors and experts from home and abroad” in order to create jobs, help unemployed graduates to start businesses, and to develop relations with relevant associations, structures and organisations.

The association faces claims by the Anti-Terrorism Judicial authorities that there are “suspicions of money laundering and funding terrorism.”

Ghannouchi is among the defendants in the case, as is his son Moaz, his daughter Sumaya, his son-in-law, former Foreign Minister Rafik Abdel Salam, and former Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who was recently detained for four days. A travel ban has been imposed on Ghannouchi, Jebali, Abdel Salam and 10 others who stand accused. Their assets have been frozen.

According to his lawyer Samir Dilou, though, Ghannouchi has no connection with Namaa Tounes. “He has nothing to do with this association, as he is neither a founder, nor a member, nor a benefactor.”

Ennahda believes that the allegations against Ghannouchi are part of efforts by President Kais Saied to take his political opponents out of the game in the run up to his referendum on a new constitution for Tunisia scheduled for 25 July. The movement condemned what it said was “an attempt to subjugate the judiciary to liquidate political opponents in the context of narrow-minded electoral calculations that are well known.”

Ghannouchi: ‘Tunisia heading towards dictatorship’

Namaa Tounes also denies all of the allegations. Its defence lawyers told a press conference that it has not broken any laws. They also noted that the allegations are politically motivated.

Lawyer Mokhtar Jamai said that the association’s case coincided with the political situation in the country since 25 July last year to cover up what he described as the political, economic and social failure of the Saied-led authorities. He pointed out that Namaa Tounes is a development association, not a charity, as is claimed. Moreover, its work is completely transparent, as it submits periodic financial reports on its activities.

Meanwhile, 41 human rights associations and organisations in Tunisia have announced the establishment of the Civil Coalition for Freedom, Dignity, Social Justice and Equality. The coalition rejects Saied’s “exceptional measures” imposed since last July, especially the upcoming referendum. The groups involved include the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES); the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD); the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT); the Tunisian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LTDH); and the Tunisian Women’s Association for Development Research.

The civil society coalition believes that what is happening is the seizure of the right of future generations to a democratic system in Tunisia. The president, say its members, is destroying the gains made by the revolution and the struggles of civil society. They called for “a timetable to be set for a national dialogue to save the country from its economic and social crisis, for the identification of appropriate solutions and for the urgent restoration of the democratic process.”