Tunisia: Islamist Opposition Leader Arrested By Police

Rached Ghannouchi, one of the main opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saied, has been arrested, his Ennahdha party said Monday, the latest in a string of opposition figures held in detention. 

Ghannouchi, 81, whose party was the largest in parliament before Saied dissolved it in July 2021, was arrested at his home in Tunis, according to the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha.

"Ennahdha condemns this extremely serious development and demands Rached Ghannouchi's immediate release," the statement said.

Mondher Lounissi, vice-president of Ennahdha, told a press conference that Ghannouchi had been taken to a police barracks for questioning and that his lawyers had been denied access.

His arrest followed media reports that he had threatened Tunisia with "civil war" if political Islam, from which his party arose, was eradicated there.

Ghannouchi's arrest was linked to these statements, according to a source at the interior ministry quoted by Tunisian media.

Authorities in the North African country have arrested more than 20 political opponents and personalities since early February.

Politicians, former ministers, businessmen, trade unionists, and the owner of Tunisia's most popular radio station, Mosaique FM, have been among them.

According to Saied, 65, those detained were "terrorists" involved in a "conspiracy against state security."

Local and international human rights organizations have condemned the arrests of leaders of the National Salvation Front (FSN), the main opposition coalition that includes Ennahdha.