Witness says Ghannouchi fainted in Tunisian prison during heatwave

Tunisia’s jailed opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi lost consciousness at Mornaguia prison during a severe heatwave, according to Haifa Chebbi, the daughter of another imprisoned politician. Her account has renewed attention on conditions facing elderly opposition figures held in the prison.

Chebbi said in a Facebook live video after visiting the prison on Tuesday that she saw the 85-year-old former parliament speaker faint in extreme heat. She said she struggled to breathe and walk by the end of her visit.

According to Chebbi, the temperature inside Mornaguia prison reached 52 degrees Celsius, or 126 degrees Fahrenheit, during the visit. She said detainees spend most of the day in cells of no more than 16 square metres and are permitted only two hours outside each day.

Elderly detainees under strain

Ghannouchi, who leads Tunisia’s Ennahda movement, has been in prison since 2023, Al Jazeera reported. He was taken to hospital on April 30 after a serious decline in his health and later returned to Mornaguia prison, according to the network.

Chebbi said the episode showed the pressure that prison conditions are placing on older detainees, including several who are spending their fourth summer behind bars. She also named other imprisoned opposition figures, including lawyers Abir Moussi and Ayachi Hammami, journalist Ziad El Hani and activist Chaima Issa.

Chebbi did not accuse prison staff of mistreating inmates. In her video, she said staff were doing what they could and that elderly prisoners were receiving particular attention.

Opposition crackdown

Chebbi’s father, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, is an 81-year-old opposition politician. Al Jazeera reported that he helped found the National Salvation Front in 2022, a coalition of secular, liberal and Islamist groups opposed to President Kais Saied’s rule.

Ahmed Nejib Chebbi was among 37 opposition figures charged in 2025 with “conspiracy against state security,” according to Al Jazeera. He received a 12-year prison sentence.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk criticised the imprisonment of the 37 defendants in 2025. Turk said in a statement that the process had been marked by violations of fair trial and due process rights, which he said raised serious concerns about political motivation.

In her video, Haifa Chebbi linked the prison situation to broader public anger over water and electricity shortages in Tunisia. She called on Tunisians to act for political change, saying citizens would bear responsibility for what happens next, whether negative or positive.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.