Rached Ghannouchi prison collapse leaves family seeking access
Moadh Ghannouchi says relatives and lawyers have had no contact with the jailed Tunisian opposition leader for 11 days.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
After Rached Ghannouchi’s prison collapse on July 17, his family and lawyers have been unable to see or contact the jailed Tunisian opposition leader, his son Moadh Ghannouchi told Al Jazeera. The 85-year-old’s condition has become a focus for Tunisia’s opposition because his relatives say they have received no official confirmation of where he is being treated or how he is doing.
Moadh Ghannouchi said in an interview Monday that lawyers last saw his father days before he temporarily lost consciousness in prison. He said requests to visit him in hospital, including one sent to the public prosecutor, had been rejected.
“It is like a situation of enforced disappearance,” Moadh Ghannouchi told Al Jazeera.
He said his father has high blood pressure and breathing problems and had been kept in a prison without air conditioning during a severe heatwave. He accused the authorities of responsibility for the elder Ghannouchi’s condition and said the family believes his detention conditions were intended to harm his health.
Where is Rached Ghannouchi now?
Moadh Ghannouchi said the family does not know where Rached Ghannouchi is being held or treated. He said social media rumours have placed him at Rabta public hospital in Tunis, at a military hospital, and have also claimed he suffered a heart attack, but the family has received no official information.
Ghannouchi’s defence team demanded an update on his health in a statement posted Monday on his official Facebook page. An Ennahda party spokesperson also told Al Jazeera that the party did not know which hospital he was in or what his medical condition was.
Haifa Chebbi, the daughter of another imprisoned opposition figure, said she witnessed Ghannouchi losing consciousness at Mornaguia prison as temperatures rose. She said the temperature reached 52C, or 126F. His lawyers said Thursday that his condition was “critical.”
Why is Rached Ghannouchi in prison?
Ghannouchi, the leader of the Ennahda party and a former speaker of parliament, has been jailed since April 2023. He is among the most prominent opposition figures detained during President Kais Saied’s crackdown on opponents.
A Tunisian court sentenced him to life in prison, according to Al Jazeera. His supporters describe the case as politically motivated, while Saied’s government denies that prosecutions of opponents are driven by politics.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention previously found that Ghannouchi’s detention was arbitrary and called for his immediate release. Moadh Ghannouchi said Tunisian authorities ignored that finding.
On Sunday, the National Salvation Front, an opposition coalition, called on authorities to issue an immediate statement on Ghannouchi’s health. Amnesty International also called for prisoners to be protected during the heatwave.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.