Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi, who is currently imprisoned, initiated a hunger strike on Monday to express solidarity with fellow anti-government figures. This protest aims to demand the immediate release of those detained.
Ghannouchi, 82, a prominent critic of President Kais Saied and leader of the Ennahda main opposition party, was incarcerated last year on charges related to incitement against police and alleged plotting against state security, according to a team of opposition lawyers.
Earlier this month in a separate case a judge sentenced him to three years in prison on charges of accepting external financing.
“While he is fighting the ’empty stomach’ battle, Ghannouchi calls on Tunisians adhere to a democratic Tunisia that includes everyone on the basis of freedom … and the independence of the judiciary”, the lawyers said in a statement.
The opposition contends that President Saied’s abrupt closure of the elected parliament in 2021 and his transition to governing by decree constituted a coup.
Saied, who legitimised his expanded constitutional powers through a low-turnout referendum in 2022, refutes allegations of a coup, asserting that his actions were necessary to rescue Tunisia from prolonged chaos.
Last year, six opposition leaders, arrested in a government crackdown, initiated an indefinite hunger strike last week to protest against their arbitrary imprisonment and demand immediate release.
They advocate for an end to judicial prosecutions targeting politicians, journalists, and civil society activists, calling for a cessation of intimidation and threats against judges.
Jawher Ben Mbarak, Khayam Turki, Ghazi Chaouachi, Issam Chabbi, Abdelhamid Jalasi, and Rida Belhaj were detained on suspicions of conspiring against state security.
The opposition accuses Saied of suppressing the press, instituting authoritarian rule, and dismantling the democracy established after the 2011 revolution. Saied dismisses these accusations, labeling his critics as criminals, traitors, and terrorists. He warns that any judge facilitating their release would be considered complicit in their actions.
