Tunisia opens investigation into death of former President Essebsi

Tunisian Justice Minister Leila Jaffel has ordered prosecutors to launch an investigation into the death of Béji Caïd Essebsi, as reported by Tunisian news agency TPA. The former president died on 25 July 2019 at the age of 92 in a hospital in the capital after his health deteriorated. An investigation was opened months after the former president's death, but was closed due to lack of evidence, with the official cause of death being a heart attack. However, rumours of a possible poisoning have been growing in recent years. There have even been suspicions of poisoned bread or a lethal substance mailed to the presidential office, according to the Haaretz newspaper. 

Essebsi's son, Hafez, has indicated in recent interviews that his father became seriously ill as a result of "food poisoning". Hafez claimed on national broadcaster Attessia TV that his father told him and his sister "that a 'bomb' had been planted in his stomach". "I have expressed doubts about the suspicious circumstances of my father's death, despite the supervision and efforts of the medical staff of the Tunis Military Hospital," he added. Because of the Justice Ministry's decision, Hafez has thanked the authorities for opening the investigation. "The people and his family have the right to know the truth," he wrote on his Facebook page.

"The late president was a president for all Tunisians without exception, and has a strong symbolism for all, reflected during his solemn funeral, when his people came out for his last farewell," he added. Essebsi played a key role after the Arab Spring protests. After the flight of President Ben Ali, Essebsi helped draft a new democratic constitution and led the country to elections in 2014, which he won. During his tenure, he focused on improving education and the situation of Tunisian women. Essebsi, after 44 years, abolished a law prohibiting Tunisian women from marrying non-Muslim men.

Naji Jalloul, former minister and secretary general of Nidaa Tounes, the party founded by Essebsi, has also questioned the "official" causes of Essebsi's death. Tounes claimed that Essebsi "was in good health only a few days before his death".

However, it was Sheikh Mohamed Hentati who pointed the finger directly at the alleged perpetrators of Essebsi's death. According to Hentati, the Islamist Ennahda party is allegedly behind the poisoning of the Tunisian leader. Hentati, who has been arrested several times in recent years, recently claimed on television to have proof of the crime. "The Ministry of Defence could not reveal the forensic report and determine the real cause of death," Hentati explained, reports Asharq al-Awsat. The Arab media also recalls that just days before his death, Essebsi chaired a session of the National Security Council, during which he accused Ennahda of having a secret apparatus operating in parallel with the state, something the political formation has always denied.

Essebsi's death has always been at the centre of suspicion, and accusations against Ennahda are not new. In fact, weeks after the former president's death, a Nidaa Tounes MP demanded the "truth" of the case and pointed the finger at the Islamist formation. "Did the president die a natural death or was he poisoned? Tunisians want to know. For my part, I suspect poisoning because shortly before his death the president had demanded the truth about Ennahda's security apparatus", Fatma Mseddi declared at the time, according to the Tunisian media Le Presse de Tunisie. Mondher Belhaj Ali, former leader of Essebsi's party, also referred to the former president's suspicious death last October. "Two weeks before he fell ill, Essebsi had revealed to me his intention to lead a battle against Ennahda's secret apparatus," adds the Tunisian newspaper.

The accusations against Ennahda come at a time when several members of the political party are under house arrest on the orders of Kaïs Saied's government. Ennahda leader and former justice minister Noureddine Bhiri and former interior ministry adviser Fathi Beldi have been arrested "to preserve public security and order". Bhiri's lawyers filed a complaint with the public prosecutor's office against President Saied and Interior Minister Tawfiq Sharaf el-Din for the arrest of the Ennahda leader. Bhiri has also begun a hunger strike, and according to party sources, his condition is "fragile". The interior minister defended himself against the allegations, saying that "decisions are not arbitrary and we operate within the framework of the law". "During the last period, suspicious movements and fears of a backlash were observed, which further explains these arrests and house arrests to preserve public order," El-Din explained, reports Le Presse de Tunisie.

Last July, the Tunisian president froze the government and assumed full governmental powers in order to "protect the state". Saied also ordered the suspension of the work of parliament, which at the time had an Ennahda majority. President Saied seeks with these measures to curb the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is linked to the Islamist Ennahda party. The political formation gained popularity after the 2011 uprisings and was even part of the Troika, the coalition that governed the country during the post-revolutionary constituent period after the overthrow of Ben Ali. However, as in other countries in the region, the Islamists lost popularity over the years, and although they won first place in the 2019 parliamentary elections, they lost a lot of support compared to previous years.