TUNIS, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Tunisian authorities placed Abdel Karim Harouni, the senior official in the opposition Ennahda Islamist Party, under house arrest, the country's main opposition coalition said on Saturday.
Harouni heads the Shura Council, the highest-ranking body in Ennahda, which was the biggest political party in the parliament closed by President Kais Saied in 2021.
The Salvation Front coalition said "the arbitrary decision" against Harouni was in the context of the arrest of leaders of Ennahda and the closure of its headquarters.
The government also banned meetings at all Ennahda offices, and police closed all party offices, in a move Ennahda said aimed at consolidating a dictatorial regime.
The opposition parties have decried their leaders' arrests as politically motivated, and local and international rights groups have urged authorities to free the detainees.
Persons:
Abdel Karim Harouni, Harouni, Kais Saied, Rached Ghannouchi, Noureddine Bhiri, Riadh Bettaib, Said Ferjani, Sahbi Atigue, Mohamed Ben Salem, Ennahda, Saied, Tarek Amara, Jonathan Oatis
Organizations:
Islamist Party, Front, Police, Thomson
Locations:
TUNIS, Ennahda