Tunisia On Verge Of Dissolving the Brotherhood Ennahda Movement

While a number of leaders of the Brotherhood Ennahda Movement are called for investigations in cases related to terrorism and other corrupt practices during the movement’s control of power, observers suggested that the Tunisian authorities would issue a decision to dissolve the Brotherhood movement soon, after a number of its leaders were involved in terrorist crimes and corruption.

Observers believe that the decision of the remaining leaders of the movement outside prisons, led by Al-Mundhir Al-Wanisi, the new interim president, to organize a general conference during the coming period may accelerate Tunisia’s decision to dissolve in light of what the trend reflects in terms of the scale of the organization’s crimes classified as terrorist in a number of Arab countries.

The leaders of Ennahda movement are also pursuing charges of foreign funding, as the Tunisian judiciary opened, in March 2022, an investigation into the “Looping” case, which is still ongoing.

Loping contracts (pressure groups) concluded by the movement with foreign companies, to carry out campaigns in its favor, to improve its image and manipulate public opinion, based on what was revealed in the final report of the Accountability Department on the results of monitoring the financing of the early presidential and legislative elections in 2019.

In 2014, Ennahda signed a four-year contract with the American advertising and lobbying company, BCW, for a sum of $285,000.

This contract was renewed, from July 16, 2019, to December 17 of the same year, for an amount of $187,000, which the court considered suspicion of foreign funding within the meaning of Chapter 163 of the electoral law.

Ban meetings
Last month, the Tunisian authorities banned meetings in all offices of Ennahda movemet, and the police closed the headquarters of the Salvation Front loyal to the Brotherhood, following the arrest of Rashid Ghannouchi, head of the Tunisian Brotherhood on April 17, on charges of conspiracy against state security.

In a comment by Tunisian President Kais Saied on the decision of the judicial authorities, he said that “no one is above the law,” and stressed that he would not back down from holding the perpetrators of crimes against the country accountable.

Hassan Al-Tamimi, a Tunisian political analyst, said that Ennahda movement is very close to its end. After closing its headquarters, imprisoning its historical leader and most prominent leader, it will become a banned movement.

Al-Tamimi confirmed that the arrest and imprisonment of Rashid Ghannouchi didn’t affect the street, also Brotherhood did not go to the street and interact with that arrest, despite the movement’s call in a statement immediately after his arrest for its rules and for those it described as free, to stand together in the face of the authorities.

Al-Tamimi explained that arresting Ghannouchi confused the movement and affected the symbolic and legal status of Ghannouchi, who has led the group for more than 50 years, pointing out that the movement is politically and financially linked to his person and the narrow circle surrounding him, which will lead to the inevitable end of this party, as known that Ghannouchi is the head of the group and linked with the international organization of the Brotherhood.

He stressed that Saiedd administration wants things to proceed legally and with legal evidence, which is already happening with the ongoing investigations into a number of cases involving the group’s leaders.

Brotherhood is over

For her part, Fatima Al-Masdi, the Tunisian parliamentarian, said that the Brotherhood has ended in Tunisia since the path of accountability was launched, describing the leader of the organization, Rashid Ghannouchi, who is currently imprisoned in the case of conspiracy against state security, as the leader of terrorism in the country.

The leaders of Brotherhood movment are under investigation for their part in helping a number of young men in Tunisia to travil to Syria joining terrorist groups, headed by the terrorist organization ISIS, which controlled large areas in Syria and Iraq since 2014 until the announcement of the defeat of the organization and the fall of its alleged state in 2018.