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April 19, 2023

Tunisian Police Detain Prominent Political Rival, Raid Ennahda Party HQ in Crackdown on Opposition
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In Tunisia, police arrested opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi and
raided his Ennahda party's headquarters in the latest crackdown on
critics of President Kais Saied. Saied has been accused of carrying out
a legislative coup after he dismissed the government, declared rule by
decree and vowed to rewrite Tunisia's constitution in 2021. This is
Ghannouchi speaking just two days before he was detained.

Rached Ghannouchi: "Tunisia without Ennahda party and without political
Islam, without the left or any of the components, is a civil war
project. This is a crime, in fact. And therefore, those who welcomed
this coup cannot be democrats."

In other news from Tunisia, clashes broke out between mourning
protesters and police at the funeral of professional soccer player Nizar
Issaoui, who died last week after setting himself on fire, in what has
been described as a protest against the "police state." Prior to his
death, Issaoui decried the police for accusing him of terrorism after a
dispute with a fruit vendor over the price of bananas.


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