Before the Interrogation: Said Ferjani
Tunisian authorities arrest leading Ennahda figure in latest crack down
The Jasmine Revolution of 2011 saw the departure of the dictator Zine El Abedine Ben Ali and his clan. Events in Tunisia sparked off a domino effect which saw the departure of some of the regions longest serving dictators like Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi. However, whilst Egypt’s experiment with democracy was subverted and Libya became embroiled in factional infighting, Tunisia seemed to be a beacon of hope for democracy.
Though politics in Tunisia was certainly a tumultuous affair, experiencing the reverberations of the region, democracy seemed to be holding up. In the heart of Tunisian democratic politics was according to Anne Wolf, Nidaa Tounes and Ennahda1. And not unlike British parliamentary politics where power oscillates from the Conservative party to the Labour party, in Tunis too, political power swung from Nidaa to Ennahda.
Ennahda, has been described as a moderate Islamist party founded by Rached Ghannouchi, a former London exile. The party, as another senior Ennahda member, Said Ferjani told me, was the equivalent of the Christian Democratic Union in Germany2. Nevertheless its roots certainly lay in the Islamist politics of its founder Rached Ghannouchi and indeed the region.
Despite Ennahda’s attempts at convincing Tunisians that their politics were wholly democratic and indeed parliamentary, influenced by their period of London exile. Secularists viewed them as a Trojan horse for hardline Islamism and by conservatives as abandoning their causes and accused them of peddling an ‘Islam light’. For a great podcast on Ennahda in Tunisian politics do listen to Erin Clare Brown, North Africa editor of New Lines Magazine, interviewing Monica Marks, a specialist in Tunisia, here
The economic woes and corruption scandals afflicting Tunisian society post revolution and a Covid flare up saw the arrival of President Kais Saied in 2021. Saied suspended parliament and dissolved the government in July 2021. The move was dubbed a "constitutional coup" and condemned by the international community. It left Saied ruling by decree and effectively turning him into a dictator.
He also cracked down on those who opposed him. According to Erin Clare Brown, North Africa editor, writing in New Lines:
“Over a dozen political figures, trade unionists and members of the media have been taken into custody on security or graft charges. Some have been dragged from their homes without warrants; others, put on trial before military courts, despite being civilians. Many are being held in what their lawyers say are inhumane conditions, crammed in cells with scores of prisoners and without beds.”
One such figure that Saied considered a threat according to Middle East Eye, was senior Ennahda member Said Ferjani. Ferjani is another London exile who sought asylum in London after being arrested by Ben Ali in 1987. According to Middle East Eye, he spent 18 months in prison, suffering torture and life changing injuries. He returned to Tunisia after Ben Ali was ousted in 2011 and elected an MP. He also served as the party’s adviser.
Ferjani knew he was in Saied’s sights and granted me an interview just before his first first interrogation on 20th of February. On the 28th of February he was detained according to the family “without charge” and should have been released as there was no case to answer. According to the family, he has been moved to prison and begun a hunger strike.
Below is the audio interview I did with Said Ferjani before his interrogation.
His son, Seifeddine Ferjani, has also told me the following over Whatsapp:
“Said Ferjani, a high-ranking member of the party the centre right nahdha, has been detained without charge in Tunisia. He was summoned for questioning on Monday 20th February with his full cooperation and again yesterday morning at 9 am for a second time. He will be questioned again this Wednesday 1st of March by an anti-terrorism department responsible for national security.
“ The detention of Said Ferjani is related to the Instalingo case, which involves a media company accused of being part of a conspiracy against state security. A new case was started against the same company with the same charges to try to implicate Said Ferjani and Ennahdha party representatives in it. However, prosecutors cannot open a new case in a topic that is already being investigated. The reasoning behind the decision to detain him is not immediately clear to his lawyers.
In addition to his detention, there have been serious and continuous violations against the Tunisian Assembly of People’s Representatives and Tunisian Members of Parliament since President Kais Saied suspended parliament and assumed executive power in July 2021. These violations include dissolving the Assembly without constitutional authority, prosecuting MPs who participated in plenary sessions, ignoring parliamentary legislative acts approved by a majority of Tunisian MPs, appointing members to oversee elections in violation of the constitution, suspending the work of the Assembly since July 2021, lifting parliamentary immunity of all Tunisia's MPs, depriving them of their salaries and access to social security and healthcare, preventing some deputies and their families from receiving medical treatments resulting in deaths.”
https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/06/04/political-islam-in-tunisia-history-of-ennahda-by-anne-wolf-pub-79719