The leader of Tunisian opposition party Ennahda, Rached Ghannouchi, was detained late on Monday, state news agency TAP reported.
On Tuesday, three more prominent Ennahda officials were arrested, a lawyer and officials told Reuters.
Mr Ghannouchi, an Islamist with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, was detained after a writ by the prosecutor at the anti-terrorism judicial division alleging he made inflammatory comments.
Mohamed Goumani, Belkacem Hassan and Mohammed Chnaiba were arrested hours later, lawyer Monia Bouali told Reuters. Officials in Ennahda confirmed the arrests.
Ennahda criticised Mr Ghannouchi's arrest, calling it a “dangerous development”.
The party said Mr Ghannouchi's lawyers were not allowed to meet them and described the move as a “kidnapping”.
Mr Ghannouchi is one of the most prominent critics of President Kais Saied, his party said.
Police raided the party headquarters and emptied the building to start a search that will take days, after showing a judicial warrant, party officials told Reuters.
Ennahda also said police had searched Mr Ghannouchi's home before taking him to an “unknown destination”.
An Interior Ministry official said Mr Ghannouchi was taken for questioning and his house searched on the orders of the public prosecutor investigating “inciting statements”.
A senior Ennahda party official told Reuters the arrest was an attempt to “hit Ennahda and opposition parties.”
“We have a fear that it will be a prelude to a freeze on the party,” said Riadh Chaibi.
Police have this year detained leading political figures who accuse Mr Saied of a coup for his moves to close the elected parliament in 2021 and move to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution.
The earlier arrests, which have led to charges of conspiring against state security, have drawn statements of concern from the US and rights groups.
Mr Ghannouchi was speaking at an opposition meeting on Saturday.
“Tunisia without Ennahda, without political Islam, without the left, or any other component, is a project for civil war,” he said.
Mr Ghannouchi, 81, who was in exile in the 1990s and returned during Tunisia's 2011 uprising that brought democracy, claimed those who “celebrated the coup are extremists and terrorists”.
He has faced repeated rounds of judicial questioning over the past year on charges relating to Ennahda's finances and to allegations it helped Islamists travel to Syria to fight, charges he and the party both deny.
Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
