Court imposes Travel Ban on Rached Ghannouchi

A Tunisian court on Friday imposed a travel ban on the Speaker of the Tunisian parliament Rached Ghannouchi over alleged offences regarding the country’s national security, Tunisian media reported.

Ghannouchi is one of several officials of the Ennahda party banned from travel, however, the court did not issue the names of the others.

According to Reuters, which contacted Ghannouchi himself, Ghannouchi denied any knowledge of the travel ban.

Speaking to Agence France-Presse, Fatima Bouqtaya, spokesperson for the court in the Tunis suburb of Ariana, confirmed that a travel ban was imposed on: “34 suspects in this case, including Rached Ghannouchi.”

Ghannouchi, 81, who heads the Ennahda party, has been critical of President Kais Saied, who, in July 2021, suspended the freely-elected parliament, sacked the government and assumed executive powers.

In March 2022, Saied dissolved parliament, returning the country to an autocratic regime that was ended by a revolution in 2011.

The court claimed that the travel ban was imposed on Ghannouchi and his party members over investigations related to the alleged: “Muslim Brotherhood secret activities that undermine the national security of the state.”