Ghannouchi officially charged with belonging to a terrorist organisation
Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of the Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood, will appear before the investigating magistrate in the anti-terrorism judicial branch (a competent court) as a defendant on July 19.
The same sources confirmed that Ghannouchi was informed of this summons yesterday, Tuesday, in connection with the case of the Nemaa charity, which has a terrorist character.
On Tuesday, the Chairman of the Financial Analysis Committee, Central Bank Governor Marouane Abassi, issued an order to all banks and the National Post Office to notify them of the decision to freeze the accounts of a number of leaders and individuals affiliated with Ennahda, the most prominent of which are Ghannouchi and his son-in-law Moaz, his brother-in-law Rafik Abdessalem, former Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, his sons and son-in-law Mohamed al-Hashfi, Najeh Al-Haj Latif, one of Ghannouchi’s hidden arms, Rafiq Amara and Abdul Karim Suleiman.
The case began following a complaint by the defense committee of leftist leaders Chokri Belaid and nationalist Mohamed Brahmi, both assassinated in 2013, that a charity was being accused of receiving funds from abroad of unknown origin.
The Public Prosecution in the Court of First Instance in Tunis directed the Sub-Department of Economic and Financial Research of the Justice Police Department to examine, at a first stage, the statements of a representative of the complainants, before later obtaining decisions related to the Central Bank, the Financial Analysis Committee and a bank with foreign capital.
Financial transactions were limited to remittances from abroad and withdrawals during a specific period, particularly between 2013 and 2014, involving millions of transfers without specifying their sources.
The Sub-Directorate for Economic and Financial Research gave three officials of the Charitable Society the opportunity to prove the origin of the funds. Once they were reheard, the documents could not be submitted. A judicial warrant was issued for the referral of the case to the Anti-Terrorism Judicial Branch, which assigned the National Anti-Terrorism Unit to continue the investigation, with the authorization to detain the three officials for five days, which could be extended, and the inclusion of two other officials of the Charitable Association in the inspection.
Chokri’s and Belaid’s lawyers had filed a complaint with the military judiciary about what they called the secret financial apparatus of Ennahdha. The military judiciary assigned part of the complaint to the anti-terrorism unit of the National Guard, and abandoned the part related to the financial aspect for the benefit of the court of first instance in Tunisia.
In previous statements, Rida Al-Radawi, a member of the defense committee for Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, said that an association established in 2011 under the name Nemaha Tounes aimed at encouraging foreign investments, was involved in the crimes of travel (sending young Tunisians to fight in conflict and war areas). Preliminary penal research was opened, which was soon pursued by the Ennahdha Movement, through its arm in the judiciary.
He pointed out that “one of the accused parties is a person called Najeh Al-Haj Latif, who manages the business of the leader of the Brotherhood of Tunisia, Rached Ghannouchi, one of his hidden arms, and was an agent for a company active in the field of “textile” in Tunisia. This company was originally British and was expelled from it, but during his administration of the company, he used the electronic account of the second company to manage suspicious administrative and financial works with Ennahdha”.
