Prominent Tunisian opposition figure Jawhar Ben Mbarek has been hospitalized due to severe dehydration after spending over two weeks on a hunger strike, his family reported on Friday.
Ben Mbarek, co-founder of Tunisia’s main opposition alliance, the National Salvation Front, has been detained since February 2023. His family warned that his health has “severely deteriorated” as he continues his hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.
Doctors treating Ben Mbarek at the hospital detected “a highly dangerous toxin” affecting his kidneys, his sister, Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddek, said in a Facebook post. Despite receiving medical treatment, Ben Mbarek reportedly refused nutritional supplements, insisting on continuing his hunger strike. He was released and returned to prison on Friday afternoon.
The family and his lawyer previously alleged that guards at Belli prison had beaten him on Wednesday. His lawyer, Hanen Khemiri, confirmed that a complaint of torture had been filed with the public prosecutor, while prison authorities launched an investigation into the claims.
Ben Mbarek was sentenced in April to 18 years in prison on charges including “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group,” following more than two years of pre-trial detention. The trial, which involved multiple defendants, has drawn criticism from human rights organizations.
Rights groups have expressed concern over Tunisia’s declining civil liberties following President Kais Saied’s sweeping power grab in July 2021. Many critics of the government remain in detention, including Rached Ghannouchi, the 84-year-old leader of the Ennahdha party, who has reportedly joined a hunger strike in solidarity with Ben Mbarek.
Prison authorities have previously denied reports of detainees’ health deteriorating, stating that all inmates, including those on hunger strikes, are under “continuous medical supervision.”
Ben Mbarek’s case has drawn international attention, highlighting ongoing concerns about human rights and political freedoms in Tunisia.
