Tunisia: Rached Ghannouchi refuses to appear before the judiciary in a money laundering case

A Tunisian court has postponed the hearing of the case involving espionage and threats to state security, known as “Instalingo,” to January 28, after Rached Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennahdha movement affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, refused to appear before the court.

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Rached Ghannouchi is currently detained in Mornaguia prison following an arrest warrant issued against him in a case involving conspiracy against state security. He is also facing other legal cases, with appealable verdicts already issued against him.

Friday’s session saw the withdrawal of the defense team representing the accused, while detained suspects attended the hearing. The prosecution confirmed that Rached Ghannouchi refused to appear before the court.

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The case dates back to October 2021, when several employees of a company were arrested on charges including “committing a grave act against the Tunisian president,” conspiracy against state security, and espionage.

The investigation involved several journalists, bloggers, entrepreneurs, and politicians, including the former Speaker of the dissolved House of Representatives, Rached Ghannouchi, along with his daughter, his son-in-law Rafiq Abdel Salam, and former Interior Ministry spokesperson Mohamed Ali Laroui.

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Information received by a security unit in Sousse indicated that a private company specializing in content creation and digital communication had received suspicious funding and was engaged in money laundering activities.

During a raid on the company’s premises, 23 central units, including computers, recording devices, and high-quality technological equipment, were seized.

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Following forensic analysis, seven company employees were arrested on suspicion of receiving suspicious funds from two foreign countries, aimed at harming state security and defaming individuals through social media.

Additionally, it was decided to imprison former Tunisian intelligence chief Lazhar Longo, the editor-in-chief of the Brotherhood-affiliated online newspaper “Al-Chahid,” Lotfi Al-Haidouri, and former Interior Ministry spokesperson Mohamed Ali Laroui. Blogger Slim Jabali, former government adviser Ashraf Barbouch, Ennahdha official Adel Dadadh, political activist Bachir Yousfi, a former security officer, and two other suspects were also detained as part of the case concerning the “Instalingo” company.

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