Tunisia’s jailed opposition leader Ghannouchi rushed to hospital

Jailed Tunisian absorption person Rached Ghannouchi has been rushed to hospital, arsenic his enactment demands his contiguous release.

Jailed Tunisian absorption person Rached Ghannouchi has been urgently transferred to a infirmary aft a crisp deterioration successful his health, his enactment has announced, calling for his contiguous release.

Ghannouchi, the 84-year-old erstwhile talker of parliament and caput of the Ennahdha party, has been imprisoned since April 2023 successful what his supporters and planetary rights groups picture arsenic a politically motivated run to crush dissent.

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In a connection connected Facebook connected Thursday, Ennahdha’s media and communications bureau said situation authorities were forced to transportation Ghannouchi to infirmary for attraction and continuous aesculapian reflection implicit the coming days.

The enactment did not supply circumstantial details regarding his existent aesculapian condition, but noted that helium suffers from chronic illnesses that necessitate changeless household attraction and attraction owed to his precocious age.

“In airy of this unsafe development, the question renews its request for the contiguous merchandise of Mr Rached Ghannouchi, considering him arbitrarily detained,” the connection read.

Ennahdha pointed to past year’s determination by a United Nations committee of experts, which concluded that Ghannouchi is being prosecuted for his state of sentiment and expression, and that the charges against him deficiency immoderate ineligible oregon factual basis.

“The earthy spot for Mr Rached Ghannouchi is to beryllium escaped successful his location among his family,” the enactment added, citing his law close to indispensable healthcare and planetary treaties ratified by Tunisia.

Widening crackdown

Ghannouchi’s hospitalisation is the latest occurrence successful a prolonged crackdown connected the governmental absorption orchestrated by President Kais Saied.

Elected successful 2019, Saied – a erstwhile instrumentality prof – suspended the Tunisian parliament successful 2021 and subsequently dissolved the legislature to regularisation by decree. He aboriginal pushed done a arguable referendum connected a caller constitution that vastly expanded the powers of the presidency. The absorption has described Saied’s determination arsenic a coup.

Since then, Saied’s authorities has targeted galore absorption figures, journalists, lawyers, and activists. Ghannouchi, the highest-profile fig to beryllium arrested successful the consolidation of power, has been held connected aggregate charges.

He was initially arrested successful April 2023 connected charges of incitement and sentenced to 1 twelvemonth successful prison.

In February 2024, a proceedings tribunal specialising successful fiscal corruption sentenced him to 3 years successful situation implicit accusations that his enactment received overseas contributions – a complaint Ennahdha vehemently denied.

Furthermore, successful February past year, helium was handed a 22-year situation condemnation connected charges that included plotting against authorities security.

The crackdown has not been constricted to Ghannouchi. In November 2025, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, cofounder of the National Salvation Front, was hospitalised owed to terrible dehydration during a hunger onslaught protesting his detention.

Shortly after, salient absorption fig Ayachi Hammami was arrested successful December past twelvemonth to enforce a five-year situation condemnation pursuing a wide proceedings of absorption members.

‘Robbing’ civilian liberties

Human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, person consistently condemned the arrests.

In a 2025 report, HRW stated that Tunisia’s authorities had turned arbitrary detention into a cornerstone of repressive policy.

“Saied’s authorities has returned the state to an epoch of governmental prisoners, robbing Tunisians of hard-won civilian liberties,” said Bassam Khawaja, HRW’s lawman Middle East and North Africa director.

Saied, however, has denied accusations of authoritarianism, maintaining that his actions are indispensable to combat corruption, rescue the state from governmental chaos, and clasp those helium labels arsenic “terrorists” accountable.