The investigating judge of the anti-terrorism judicial pole in Tunis decided to keep the head of the Ennahda movement and the dissolved parliament speaker, Rached Ghannouchi, in a state of release, after a second hearing that lasted 12 hours in what is known as the “deportation to hotbeds of tension” case.
Ghannouchi said in statements to reporters after leaving the session that the judges decided to release him after it became clear to them that the case was fake, and that its aim was to exclude a political party, as he put it.
He continued, "6 cases were filed against us, all of which did not stand up to scrutiny, and the judges found no choice but to release us, even though the files were not closed yet."
Ghannouchi called for caution, stressing that one should not be under the illusion that the issue of judicial independence has been resolved yet, as he put it.
The investigation with Ghannouchi came yesterday, Monday, two months after a lengthy hearing that also ended with him being released in the framework of the “deportation” case itself, which is intended to facilitate the exit of Tunisians to Syria to participate in the war within armed organizations.
The head of the Ennahda Movement and his deputy, Ali Al-Areedh, were subjected, along with a number of movement leaders and security leaders, to an investigation in this case, which began following a complaint submitted by a former parliamentarian to the military judiciary, before he transferred it to the judicial pole to combat terrorism due to the presence of civilians among the defendants.
The head of the Ennahda movement is being prosecuted in other cases, some of which are related to money laundering.
Months ago, a judge froze the financial balances and bank accounts of 10 personalities, including Ghannouchi and former Prime Minister Hammadi Jebali.
After he was interrogated 3 weeks ago in what is known as the "Instalgino" case - which relates to financial transactions described as suspicious for a digital content production company - Ghannouchi denounced the accusations against him in this case, describing them as fabricated, considering that the "dictatorship" in Tunisia is "living its last days." .