The jailed leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda movement ended his hunger and medication strike after five days at the request of the medical team overseeing his condition, his defence team said late on Monday.
In a statement, the defence team said Rached Ghannouchi ended the strike, which he began on Thursday, “in response to a request from the medical team supervising his health condition at the hospital.”
The team, however, renewed its demand for access to Ghannouchi at the hospital and for him to be allowed to meet his lawyers and family.
It also called for an end to his “isolation” in accordance with rights guaranteed under the law.
Earlier on Monday, the defence team said the 85-year-old Ennahda leader had launched the hunger and medication strike to protest the “complete isolation” imposed on him after he was transferred to a hospital on July 29.
It said his lawyers and family had been prevented from visiting or communicating with him and had not been provided information about his health despite repeated requests to the authorities.
Tunisian authorities have not commented on the latest statements.
Years in jail
Ghannouchi, the former speaker of parliament, which was dissolved by President Kais Saied, has been in prison since his arrest on April 17 2023.
A court ordered his detention in a case related to remarks attributed to him on charges of “incitement against state security.”
He was later handed prison sentences in several cases, but he rejects the charges as politically motivated.
Tunisian authorities say Ghannouchi and other defendants are being prosecuted on criminal charges and deny any political interference in judicial proceedings.
Critics and opposition figures, however, argue that the cases are part of a wider campaign targeting opponents of the Tunisian president.
