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Tunisia’s Ghannouchi in Court Again over Alleged Extremist Links

Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Tunisia's Ennahda party and speaker of the dissolved parliament, gestures after his questioning at the office of the counter-terrorism prosecutor in Tunis, Tunisia, 21 September 2022. (EPA)
Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Tunisia's Ennahda party and speaker of the dissolved parliament, gestures after his questioning at the office of the counter-terrorism prosecutor in Tunis, Tunisia, 21 September 2022. (EPA)
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Tunisia’s Ghannouchi in Court Again over Alleged Extremist Links

Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Tunisia's Ennahda party and speaker of the dissolved parliament, gestures after his questioning at the office of the counter-terrorism prosecutor in Tunis, Tunisia, 21 September 2022. (EPA)
Rached Ghannouchi, the head of Tunisia's Ennahda party and speaker of the dissolved parliament, gestures after his questioning at the office of the counter-terrorism prosecutor in Tunis, Tunisia, 21 September 2022. (EPA)

The speaker of Tunisia's dissolved parliament appeared on Monday before a judge investigating accusations his party helped Tunisian extremists travel to fight in Iraq and Syria.  

Rached Ghannouchi, an arch-rival of President Kais Saied and also head of the Islamist-inspired Ennahda party, arrived in the morning at the anti-terror court in a suburb of the capital Tunis, said one of his lawyers, Mokhtar Jemai.  

At the end of the hearing, the judge is expected to decide whether or not to charge the 81-year-old. 

Several other Ennahdha officials have been questioned on the "shipment of extremists" case since Saied sacked the Ennahda-supported government and seized full executive authority in July 2021.  

After Tunisia's 2011 revolt, thousands of Tunisians joined extremist groups in neighboring Libya as well as the ISIS group in its strongholds in Iraq and Syria.  

Rivals of Ennahda, which dominated Tunisian politics from 2011 until Saied's power grab, accuse the party of helping them leave.  

The party has repeatedly rejected those accusations as "fabricated" and says authorities are trying to distract public attention from "economic and social concerns and the deterioration of people's living conditions".  

Ghannouchi also appeared before a judge on November 10 as part of a case involving money-laundering and "incitement to violence". 

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.