Tunisia’s anti-terrorism judge decided to imprison Ali Laarayedh, a former prime minister and senior official in the Islamist opposition Ennahda party, after hours of investigation into suspicions of sending jihadists to Syria, lawyers said on Monday (December 19).
Ennahda denied accusations of terrorism, in a statement, calling it a political attack on a foe of President Kais Saied to hide “the catastrophic failure of the elections”.
Only 11.2% of Tunisian voters cast ballots in Saturday’s parliamentary elections, Farouk Bouasker, the head of the electoral commission said, after most political parties boycotted the vote as a charade to shore up President Kais Saied’s power.
After the turnout figures were announced, major parties, among them the Salvation Front, which includes Ennahda and its arch-rival, the Free Constitutional Party, said Saied had no legitimacy and should step down, calling for massive protests.