Member of the defense of Al Jazeera Net: Ghannouchi is convinced of his innocence and these are our options if a verdict is issued against him

TUNIS – Zineb Brahmi, a member of the defense team for Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi, said there was a "double standard" in the trial of Ghannousi, who was arrested on April 17 "for statements that were reconstructed and fabricated."

Brahmi confirmed, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that the investigating judge "verified the existence of a fabricated video after returning to Ghannouchi's statements in an original video" during a Ramadan prayer for the opposition Salvation Front, wondering "why he was arrested in fabricated files, while the Public Prosecution did not move a finger in complaints submitted by Ghannouchi as a complainant and affected?".

A member of the defense team for Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi explained that his health condition is stable now after it was deteriorating in the early days of his arrest, pointing out that the accusations against Ghannouchi revolve around conspiracy against state security, and there is another case related to the so-called deportation (towards hotbeds of fighting).

Details of the dialogue are as follows:

• Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi has been in prison for more than 40 days, what is his health? Does he receive adequate care in prison?

His condition is now stable after it was in the early days of detention on April 17 / April <> very poor even before he was presented to the investigative judge, which forced them to transfer him to the hospital for treatment, and this is recorded in the research records, as for health care, he receives the care available inside the prison institution (Mornaguia prison) like other prisoners.

• How many cases are raised against him?

9 issues so far.

• How long were the interrogation sessions with him?

It lasted almost 120 hours since his arrest, and no more than that, given that Rached Ghannouchi decided to refuse to appear before any judicial or security authority, and thus the number of hours stopped.

• What are the most prominent accusations against him?

All of these accusations revolve around conspiracy against state security, and there is another case related to the so-called deportation (to hotbeds of fighting), and there is a file in which he was sentenced to one year in prison for using the word tyrant during the eulogy of one of the leaders of the Ennahda movement.

• Is there a common link between these issues?

The common link is that all these issues are either raised by Ennahda's political opponents or by security union actors.

• On April 17, Ghannouchi was arrested following statements deemed inflammatory, what are the merits of this case?

There were no inflammatory statements at all, at first the Public Prosecution issued oral instructions to track Rached Ghannouchi about statements he made during a Ramadan demonstration to the opposition Salvation Front, and then after his arrest we as the defense team were prevented from attending the hearing of Rached Ghannouchi while he refused to answer without his lawyer.

In the second stage, the presence of one lawyer with him was required, and we considered that this violated the right of defense and the right of the representative, in the end, and after we insisted on appearing before the investigating judge, we found that the complaint against him was forged and pure slander, considering that the statement attributed to Ghannouchi is a composite statement and contains the fragmentation of other words and composition.

• Can you remind us of Rached Ghannouchi's original statement during that conversation?

In the original statement, Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi called for national unity and not excluding any political family in Tunisia, whether from political Islam, nationalists or the left, and called for not excluding civil society from participating in political life, and finding a solution to the political and economic situation that the country is going through.

Rached Ghannouchi said that those who call for the exclusion of any political party is originally calling for sedition in the country and a civil war, and he did not call for civil war, but warned that the consequences of exclusion are bad, and this we have seen in the experiences of other countries, and this is logical, which is a political analysis because logic and origin is that all the sons of the homeland participate in finding solutions for their homeland.

• Where exactly is the fabrication, according to you?

The fabrication lies in the deletion and rearrangement of some words from the original video of the protest organized by the opposition Salvation Front and attended by Ghannouchi, where the fabricated meaning became as if Rached Ghannouchi was calling for civil war.

• Did you ask the investigating judge to reconsider the original video?

We have upheld our right to have the original and real recording shown, because Rached Ghannouchi was referred according to what he said and not for what they want him to say, and he bears responsibility for his actions and words, and does not bear responsibility for fabrication and forgery.

• So, how did the investigating judge respond to your demand?

We spent a lot of time arguing on this point (about an hour and a half) with the investigating judge in order to enable us to view the original video containing Rached Ghannouchi's statement, and then the investigating judge showed us the original video, and it turned out to be fraudulent, but unfortunately, despite the fact that it was proven that Rached Ghannouchi did not call for sedition or incitement to violence, the decision was to imprison, and we demanded as the defense to record the existence of an original video and a composite video in the research report, and That.

• Recently, Ghannouchi was sentenced to one year in prison on charges of glorifying "terrorism" and inciting against the security forces in what was called the Taghut case, what are the details of this case?

Whoever promoted this fabricated case calls it the issue of the tyrant, but we as a defense body call it the issue of eulogy because Ghannouchi did not incite against the security forces, and all that is in it is that he praised the virtues of one of the activists of the Ennahda movement (Farhat Alabbar) and reminded of his qualities and struggle at the time of tyranny before the revolution and his defense of freedom, and used the word tyrant.

We have shown before the investigating judge previous videos of Ghannouchi in which he affirms his respect for the security authorities and the national army, and considers them protectors of the homeland and citizens, and that he is the speaker of parliament and attended that memorial service under the protection of the security forces.

• Did you appeal that ruling?

We uphold our legal rights, and we will announce it in due course.

• Ghannouchi was interrogated several times in the past, released after each interrogation, at which point he said he had confidence in the judiciary. What has changed now?

What changed was that the security forces went to the man's house to arrest and search him in this way as if he had committed a crime in flagrante delicto, all the procedures against him were almost exceptional, then his arrest and the strict prevention of lawyers from attending with him before the investigating judge in the first stage, and then the requirement of one lawyer in the second stage, all of this indicated that the path was not normal.

Then, after his appearance before the investigating judge and in the presence of lawyers with him, we had great hope that the investigating judge would keep him free after reviewing the file and finding out that there was a fabricated video, but what saddened us was that after we confirmed that the video had been falsified, the investigating judge ordered his imprisonment, and then after 3 or 4 days he was transferred to search in front of another security squad to hear him in a video that does not exist.

Despite this, he was interrogated and heard for long periods, and then a new prison deposit card was issued in what is known as the "Instarlingo" case without the presence of Ghannouchi or the defense team, and therefore these were all indications that Ghannouchi does not receive a fair trial, and therefore decided to refuse to appear before any judicial or security authority.

• During a press conference held by the defense team, it was said that Ghannouchi could face life imprisonment. Why do you think such a harsh sentence would be imposed on him?

These are the provisions of the penal code, where crimes of conspiracy against state security carry death penalties.

• What if he gets harsh prison sentences? What options does the movement have? How will she react?

Ennahda only has the legal option, we are a party licensed by the state, and we are active within the framework of the law, a party that recognizes the laws of the Tunisian state, a party that contributed to the enactment of many Tunisian legislations, and among the laws that the Ennahda bloc voted for in favor of in the Constituent Assembly and then in Parliament in 2014 and Parliament in 2019, anti-terrorism laws and defending the Tunisian country, so Ennahda will abide by the laws, and we will defend its rights and the rights of its activists according to the law and according to what the courts provide us with Tunisian rights.

• Do you think Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi might go on hunger strike?

Mr. Rached Ghannouchi is a militant man of scientific, philosophical and political stature, and he preserves all his legal rights to defend his right and prove his innocence.

• Ghannouchi refused to attend the hearings, will he back down in the coming sessions?

The decision to boycott the investigation sessions is a purely voluntary decision of Rached Ghannouchi, and we as a defense body respect his decision and will react to every decision he takes, and he naturally has the freedom to review or maintain this decision, and for Rached Ghannouchi, all rulings are political rulings.

• Do you think there is a possibility of influencing the judiciary in Ghannouchi's trial?

Perhaps here I will ask a question, what does it mean for Ghannouchi to be referred for a statement that he fabricated and is tracked and then kept after a few hours, at a time when he had previously filed dozens of complaints as a complainant and aggrieved but the Public Prosecution did not lift a finger?

What does it mean for a man to be held accountable for actions that have been proven to non-existent, when no complaint filed by Ennahda or Rached Ghannouchi has been initiated?