Tunisian Opposition Co‑Founder Jawhar Ben Mbarek Hospitalised After 17‑Day Hunger Strike, Family Says

Opposition figure taken to hospital amid prolonged hunger strike

Jawhar Ben Mbarek, a senior Tunisian opposition figure and co‑founder of the National Salvation Front, was hospitalised after suffering severe dehydration, his family said, as his condition worsened following a hunger strike that entered its 17th day.

Ben Mbarek began the strike on 29 October to protest his detention, which began in February 2023. In a Facebook post on Friday, his sister Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddek said his condition had "severely deteriorated" and that doctors had detected "a highly dangerous toxin" affecting his kidneys. She added that medical staff treated him but that he refused nutritional supplements and insisted on continuing the protest.

According to the family, Ben Mbarek was transferred to hospital late on Thursday and discharged on Friday afternoon, returning to prison the same day.

Allegations of mistreatment

Ben Mbarek's lawyer, Hanen Khmiri, has alleged that guards at Belli prison subjected him to violence while attempting to force him to end the hunger strike. "He was severely beaten, we saw fractures and bruises on his body," Khmiri said, and she has filed a complaint with the public prosecutor, who has pledged an investigation.

Khmiri: "He told me that four of the prison guards beat him severely in a place where there is no surveillance camera."

Prison authorities maintain that detainees are under "continuous medical supervision" and denied reports of deteriorating health, describing such claims as rumours.

Legal and political context

In April, Ben Mbarek was sentenced to 18 years in prison after a mass trial of opposition figures that rights groups denounced as politically motivated. He denies the charges, which included "conspiracy against state security" and "belonging to a terrorist group."

Rights organisations have warned of an erosion of civil liberties in Tunisia since President Kais Saied's July 2021 power consolidation, when he dissolved parliament and expanded executive authority. Those changes were later enshrined in a new constitution ratified in a widely boycotted 2022 referendum. Critics, including media professionals and lawyers, have faced prosecutions under a 2022 "fake news" law.

Wider protest

Last week, Ben Mbarek's family and several leading opposition figures said they would join him in a collective hunger strike. Named participants include Issam Chebbi, leader of the centrist Al Joumhouri (Republican) Party, and Rached Ghannouchi, the 84‑year‑old leader of the Ennahdha party, both of whom have been jailed after convictions in the same trial. The current health status of Chebbi and Ghannouchi has not been disclosed.

The situation remains tense as authorities and rights groups wait for the outcome of the prosecutor's promised inquiry into the alleged mistreatment.