Tunisia: Ennahda Accuses Parties of Spreading Lies about Ghannouchi’s Health

Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi in his office, in Tunis (file photo: Reuters)
Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi in his office, in Tunis (file photo: Reuters)
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Tunisia: Ennahda Accuses Parties of Spreading Lies about Ghannouchi’s Health

Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi in his office, in Tunis (file photo: Reuters)
Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi in his office, in Tunis (file photo: Reuters)

Head of Ennahda Movement and Speaker Rached Ghannouchi has been reportedly transferred to the military hospital in Tunis after his health deteriorated.

However, Ennahda denied the rumors, asserting Ghannouchi, 79, is fine and carrying out his constitutional duties.

MP Maher Medhioub, the Speaker's aide, affirmed that Ghannouchi is "in good health and practicing his duties," stressing that media reports about any change in the speakership is untrue.

Mohammed Goumani, member of Ennahda's executive office, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the rumors about Ghannouchi's health fall within the recurring attempts by “parties and figures who lack credibility" to confuse the public.

These accusations come in the wake of a petition led by opposition MP Mongi Rahoui to withdraw confidence from Ghannouchi.

Rahoui asserted that the petition now has over 104 signatories, which means that only five more are required to reach the majority to remove Ghannouchi from his post.

The MP, who is also a member of the politburo of Democratic Patriots' Unified Party, renewed his call to the Public Prosecution to take action against threats and the defamation campaign launched against him.

He believes that a number of Ennahda members and lawmakers are behind the threats after he demanded an investigation into the wealth of some of the movement's leaders.

He explained that this falls under "illicit enrichment" and requires the intervention of the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

The lawmaker indicated that the defamation campaigns targeting him were launched on social media pages supported by Ennahda.



Art Expert Pleads Guilty to Selling Works to Suspected Hezbollah Financier

FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa
FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa
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Art Expert Pleads Guilty to Selling Works to Suspected Hezbollah Financier

FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa
FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa

An art expert who appeared on the BBC's Bargain Hunt show pleaded guilty Friday to failing to report that he sold pricey works to a suspected financier of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.
Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, was charged with failing to disclose art sales between October 2020 and December 2021. He pleaded guilty in Westminster Magistrates’ Court to eight offences under a section of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Ojiri sold about 140,000 pounds ($185,000) of artworks to Nazem Ahmad, a diamond and art dealer sanctioned by the UK and US as a Hezbollah financier. The sanctions were designed to prevent anyone in the UK or US from doing business with Ahmad or his businesses.
US prosecutors said Ahmad acquired more than $160 million (120 million pounds) in artwork and diamond services by using a complex web of companies to evade sanctions, reported The Associated Press.
Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said Ojiri knew about the sanctions against Ahmad because he had searched for news reports about his status and discussed it with others.
“There is one discussion where Mr. Ojiri is party to a conversation where it is apparent a lot of people have known for years about his terrorism links,” Harris said.
Ahmad was sanctioned in 2019 by the US Treasury, which said he was a prominent Lebanon-based money launderer involved in smuggling blood diamonds, which are mined in conflict zones and sold to finance violence.
Two years ago, the UK Treasury froze Ahmad’s assets because he financed the Iranian-backed Shiite militant organization that has been designated an international terrorist group.
Ojiri, who also appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced June 6 in the Central Criminal Court.