Ennahda’s secret apparatus fuelling anger in Tunisia

Asmaa al-Batakoshi

Tunisian lawyers have started a sit-in outside their country’s principal court against the failure of the authorities in opening an investigation into the secret apparatus of Ennahda Movement, the arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in this North African country.

Politicians accuse Ennahda of involvement in the assassination of several political figures.

The movement is specifically accused of involvement in the assassination of leftist politician Shukry Belaid in February 2013 and nationalist leader Mohamed Brahimi in July of the same year.

The lawyers of both politicians accused the Tunisian prosecution of failure to open an investigation into the secret apparatus of Ennahda and protecting the perpetrators of the assassinations, in what amounts to an unprecedented escalation against the prosecution.

According to Tunisian newspapers, the lawyers insist on opening an inquiry into the secret apparatus of Ennahda and bringing those responsible for the assassination of the two politicians to account.

The move of the Tunisian lawyers comes two weeks ahead of the legislative elections in Tunisia. This means that Ennahda’s leader Rachid Ghannouchi can fail to run in the elections. If he wins in the elections, Ghannouchi will enjoy parliamentary immunity.

Belaid’s and Brahimi’s defense team contains dozens of lawyers. The team started collecting evidence on the assassinations in October 2018.

Lawyer Muhab Rumaili referred to what he described as “secret hands” that want to hide evidence in the two cases.

“Silence by Tunisian executive authorities is a moral and legal crime,” Rumaili said.

The defense team of the two politicians threatened, meanwhile, to publish documents incriminating Ennahda and its leaders.

It said failure by the prosecution to open an investigation into the assassination of the two politicians violates the independence of the judiciary and takes it away from defending the rights and the freedoms of Tunisian citizens.

The Reference referred in previous reports to affirmations by lawyer Rida al-Radawi that he had information about Ennahda’s involvement in the assassination of the two politicians.