The Tunisian Ennahda Movement said that the investigating judge in what is known as the "deportation case" issued a decision to imprison Ali Al-Areed, the deputy head of the movement, condemning what it said was targeting its leaders to cover up the "abject failure" of the legislative elections.
Yesterday evening, Monday, the investigative judge in the anti-terrorism pole decided to issue a prison deposit card against former Prime Minister Ali Al-Arayedh, after interrogating him for hours.
The head of the Ennahda Movement, Rashid Ghannouchi, and his deputy, Ali Al-Arayedh, were subjected, along with a number of movement leaders and security leaders, to an investigation into the "issue of deportation to hotbeds of tension", which is intended to facilitate the exit of Tunisians to Syria to participate in the war within armed organizations.
Ali Al-Areedh held the position of Minister of Interior in 2011, then headed the government between 2013 and 2014.
The leaders of the Ennahda movement have repeatedly denied the accusations against it in the case that began following a complaint submitted by a former parliamentarian to the military judiciary, before it was transferred to the judicial pole to combat terrorism due to the presence of civilians among the defendants.
The movement said - in a statement issued late Monday evening - that it "considers that this systematic targeting of the deputy head of the Ennahda movement is a desperate and blatant attempt by the coup authority and its president, Qais Saied, to cover up the abject failure in the farce legislative elections that were boycotted by more than 90% of the voters." .
And the head of the High Electoral Commission, Farouk Bouaskar, announced yesterday, Monday, that only 11.2% of Tunisian voters cast their votes in the parliamentary elections, after most political parties boycotted the ballot, which it described as a sham measure aimed at strengthening the authority of Tunisian President Kais Saied.
After announcing the turnout, major parties - including the Salvation Front, which includes the Ennahda party - said that Saeed had no legitimacy and should step down.
At the same time, calls came from the United States and France to implement political reforms in Tunisia in light of the reality revealed by the elections.
In the latest data, the US State Department said, "Low voter turnout reflects the need to broaden political participation in the coming months."
The ministry stressed "the importance of adopting comprehensive and transparent reforms, including the empowerment of an elected legislature, the establishment of the Constitutional Court, and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all Tunisians," according to the statement.