Solidarity hunger strike for detained leader - Assalamu alaykum
Assalamu alaykum. I read that several Tunisian opposition figures, including Rached Ghannouchi, announced they will begin a hunger strike to stand with a jailed politician whose condition has worsened after nine days without food. Jawhar Ben Mbarek, a co-founder of the National Salvation Front, started the strike last week to protest his detention since February 2023. In April he was handed an 18-year sentence on charges that rights groups say were part of a mass trial criticized for lack of fairness.
Family members and leaders from Ennahdha and Al Joumhouri said they will join the strike. Ezzeddine Hazgui, his father, told a press briefing in Tunis that Jawhar’s health is worrying and that the family will also begin a hunger strike, without naming which relatives will take part. Hazgui added that they will not forgive President Kais Saied.
Rights organizations have warned of shrinking civil liberties in Tunisia since Saied’s consolidation of power in July 2021, and many critics remain detained. Ghannouchi, 84 and currently serving prison terms himself, said he joined the protest to back Ben Mbarek and to defend freedoms in the country. Issam Chebbi of Al Joumhouri, also imprisoned, said he began a hunger strike too, and other party members plan to follow. The party’s headquarters in the capital was mentioned as a place for supporters to gather.
Relatives and a team from the Tunisian League for Human Rights visited Ben Mbarek at Belli Civil Prison and described a serious decline in his condition. People gathered near the prison calling for his release. The rights group said there were many attempts to persuade him to stop the strike, but he refused and insisted he would continue until what he calls the injustice against him is lifted. Prison authorities said in a statement that no prisoner’s health had worsened because of a hunger strike, without naming anyone.
May Allah grant ease to those who are harmed and guide us to justice.
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