Tunisia places senior Ennahda figure under house arrest
Anouar Maarouf, the former communications and technology minister, was reportedly informed by Tunisian authorities that he has been placed under house arrest.
The Tunisian government has placed one of major Islamist party Ennahda’s leaders under house arrest, local media outlets reported Friday, as President Kais Saeid forges ahead with a sweeping crackdown on his critics in the North African country.
"Anouar Maarouf was informed by official authorities that he is under house arrest," an Ennahda official told Reuters.
Maarouf is the country’s former minister of communication technologies and digital economy. He’s the highest-profile figure in Ennahda to be detained since Saied suspended the parliament, sacked Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and suspended lawmakers’ parliamentary immunity on July 25.
On Thursday, Saied rejected calls for dialogue and said there was "no turning back" from what Ennahda and other critics have branded a “coup.” He dismissed three governors from their positions on Thursday, the latest in a series of firings of high-ranking government officials that include the ambassador to the United States.
