Ghannouchi ordered the liquidation of Belaid and Brahmi… What are the developments in the political assassinations case in Tunisia?
Kathir Boualaq, a member of the defense committee for Chokri Belaid, revealed that Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of the Ennahdha movement, the political arm of the Tunisian Brotherhood, “is the one who decided to liquidate the left-wing leaders Chokri Belaid and the nationalist Mohamed Brahmi” as head of the secret apparatus of the Brotherhood movement.
He said in statements to Tunisian radio “Mosaïque”: “We practiced resistance advocacy, and we officially directed accusations at the secret apparatus of the Ennahda movement,” speaking of “the types of persecution suffered by the defense committee, and the violations and excesses that affected the file, and the fervent attempts to bury this file and to blur the outlines of the assassination of Chokri Belaid”.
The specialized criminal chamber in terrorism cases at the Tunis Court of First Instance decided to postpone the trial session in the case of the assassination of martyr Chokri Belaid until tomorrow, Friday, to complete the pleadings, at the request of the lawyers of the accused, as confirmed by a member of the defense committee for individuals, lawyer Ghassan Al-Gharibi, in a statement to the Tunis Africa News Agency.
The Tunisian public prosecutor’s office has called for the imposition of the maximum penalties on anyone found involved in the Belaid assassination case 11 years ago, as well as those who supported them from within the Muslim Brotherhood organization.
The number of defendants in this case is 23, including 6 on bail and the rest in custody.
All the accused in this case were present at today’s session, whether they were in custody or on bail, except for the accused Azeddine Abdelawi, Mohamed Amin Al-Qasimi, Ahmed Al-Maliki, Mohamed Amri and Ahmed Al-Awadi, who were brought from their prison in El-Mornagia but refused to appear before the court.
The specialized criminal chamber in terrorism cases at the Tunis Court of First Instance had decided during last Friday’s hearing to allocate Tuesday, March 19th, for completing the pleadings by the lawyers of the accused in the case that the criminal chamber started hearing on February 6th, 2024.
National leader Mohamed Brahmi was assassinated on July 25, 2013 by 14 gunshots in front of his home in the suburbs of the capital, 6 of which penetrated his upper body, while 8 bullets hit his left leg, in a horrific incident that unfolded before his wife and five children.
The assassination took place under the rule of the Brotherhood‘s Prime Minister, Hamadi Jebali, the Brotherhood’s Minister of the Interior (currently imprisoned) Ali Larayedh, and the Brotherhood’s Minister of Justice, Noureddine Bhiri.
