Tunisia’s Ghannouchi Investigated on Terrorism Charges

Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party and former speaker of the parliament, during an interview with Reuters at his office in Tunis, Tunisia, July 15, 2022. (Reuters)
Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party and former speaker of the parliament, during an interview with Reuters at his office in Tunis, Tunisia, July 15, 2022. (Reuters)
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Tunisia’s Ghannouchi Investigated on Terrorism Charges

Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party and former speaker of the parliament, during an interview with Reuters at his office in Tunis, Tunisia, July 15, 2022. (Reuters)
Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party and former speaker of the parliament, during an interview with Reuters at his office in Tunis, Tunisia, July 15, 2022. (Reuters)

The leader of Tunisia’s main opposition party is due to be questioned by the country’s anti-terrorism unit on Tuesday on suspicion of money laundering and terrorist financing through an association charity.

The accused, Rached Ghannouchi, was among a dozen top Ennahdha party officials whose bank accounts the north African country’s central bank froze earlier this month.

The moderate Islamist Ennahdha vehemently disputes the accusations of money laundering and terrorism financing.

President Kais Saied suspended parliament last year and seized broad powers in a move that he said was necessary to "save the country" from a political and economic crisis. This prompted criticism from the opposition, which accuses him of a slide toward totalitarianism.

Ennahdha has said that these accusations are aimed at distracting attention from a July 25 referendum planned by Saied to change the constitution to augment presidential powers and reduce the role of the parliament and prime minister.

The president’s critics say he is trying to legitimize a "coup."

Opposition figure Nejib Chebbi said he feared Ghannouchi’s arrest after the hearing, denouncing what he called a "harassment campaign" unleashed by the government against "leading political figures."

Saied and some others blamed Ennahdha in part for Tunisia’s political crisis last year. Ennahdha, which dominated parliament before it was suspended, is among the president’s fiercest critics.



Sanaa Airport Director: Losses from Israeli Attack Estimated at Around $500 Million

This handout picture released by Houthi-affiliated media on May 6, 2025, shows a firefighter truck extinguishing fire from a burning airplane at Sanaa international airport.  AFP
This handout picture released by Houthi-affiliated media on May 6, 2025, shows a firefighter truck extinguishing fire from a burning airplane at Sanaa international airport. AFP
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Sanaa Airport Director: Losses from Israeli Attack Estimated at Around $500 Million

This handout picture released by Houthi-affiliated media on May 6, 2025, shows a firefighter truck extinguishing fire from a burning airplane at Sanaa international airport.  AFP
This handout picture released by Houthi-affiliated media on May 6, 2025, shows a firefighter truck extinguishing fire from a burning airplane at Sanaa international airport. AFP

The Director General of Sanaa International Airport, Khaled Al-Shaief, said Wednesday that the preliminary losses resulting from the recent Israeli attack on the airport are estimated at around $500 million, according to Houthi-run media.

Al-Shaief confirmed the suspension of all flights to and from Sanaa Airport until further notice due to the damage caused by the attack launched by the Israeli military.
The Israeli strikes resulted in "extensive damage" to the airport, al-Shaief added in a post on X.

The Israeli military bombed the airport on Tuesday, claiming to have disabled the airfield in an attack that left commercial aircraft burning on the tarmac as its fighter jets struck power plants and other targets.
The rare daytime attack on Sanaa came as part of a second day of Israeli airstrikes in response to a Houthi ballistic missile striking the grounds of Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. The Houthis described the Israeli attacks as killing at least seven people and wounding 74 others over two days.