{"id":2221,"date":"2025-11-15T06:59:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T06:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2221"},"modified":"2025-11-15T06:59:43","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T06:59:43","slug":"jailed-tunisian-opposition-figure-hospitalised-amid-hunger-strike-family-politics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=2221","title":{"rendered":"Jailed Tunisian opposition figure hospitalised amid hunger strike: Family | Politics News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Jawhar Ben Mbarek\u2019s sister said his health had \u2018severely deteriorated\u2019 and a \u2018dangerous toxin\u2019 was detected in his body.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 15 Nov 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">15 Nov 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Jailed Tunisian opposition figure Jawhar Ben Mbarek has been hospitalised due to severe dehydration, his family has said, as his health continues to deteriorate after more than two weeks on hunger strike.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Mbarek, the cofounder of Tunisia\u2019s main opposition alliance, the National Salvation Front, started his hunger strike on October 29 to protest his detention in jail since February 2023.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>In a Facebook post on Friday, Ben Mbarek\u2019s sister, Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddek, warned that her brother\u2019s health had now \u201cseverely deteriorated\u201d and doctors detected \u201ca highly dangerous toxin\u201d affecting his kidneys.<\/p>\n<p>Msaddek said Ben Mbarek had \u201creceived treatment but refused nutritional supplements\u201d at the hospital where he was transferred on Thursday night, insisting on continuing his now 17-day protest.<\/p>\n<p>The politician was discharged from hospital on Friday afternoon and returned to prison, Msaddek added.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Ben Mbarek\u2019s lawyer Hanen Khmiri said he had \u201cfaced torture\u201d at the hands of guards at Belli prison, as they attempted to force him to end his protest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was severely beaten, we saw fractures and bruises on his body,\u201d Khmiri said, adding that she had filed a complaint with the public prosecutor, who promised to investigate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe told me that four of the prison guards beat him severely in a place where there is no surveillance camera,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Mbarek is one of the most prominent opponents of Tunisian strongman President Kais Saied, who has been in power since 2019.<\/p>\n<p>In April, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of \u201cconspiracy against state security\u201d and \u201cbelonging to a terrorist group\u201d, in a mass trial of opposition figures slammed by human rights groups as politically motivated.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4092370\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4092370\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4092370\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AFP__20211217__9UU3TU__v1__HighRes__TunisiaRevolutionAnniversary-1762576970.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C514&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Jawhar Ben Mbarek waves during a demonstration.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4092370\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jawhar Ben Mbarek, a member of the \u2018Citizens Against Coup\u2019 campaign, gestures during a demonstration against President Kais Saied in 2021 in the capital Tunis [File: Fethi Belaid\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ben Mbarek has denied the charges, which he has called fabricated.<\/p>\n<p>Rights groups have warned of a sharp decline in civil liberties in Tunisia since a sweeping power grab by Saied in July 2021, when he dissolved parliament and expanded executive power so he could rule by decree.<\/p>\n<p>That decree was later enshrined in a new constitution, ratified by a widely boycotted 2022 referendum. Media figures and lawyers critical of Saied have also been prosecuted and detained under a harsh \u201cfake news\u201d law enacted the same year.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Ben Mbarek\u2019s family and prominent members of Tunisia\u2019s political opposition announced they would join him in a collective hunger strike.<\/p>\n<p>Among the participants was Issam Chebbi, the leader of the centrist Al Joumhouri (Republican) Party, who is also behind bars after being convicted in the same mass trial as Ben Mbarek earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>Rached Ghannouchi, the 84-year-old leader of the Ennahdha party, who is also serving a hefty prison sentence, also said he would join the protest. Chebbi and Ghannouchi\u2019s current condition is not known.<\/p>\n<p>Prison authorities have maintained the men are under \u201ccontinuous medical supervision\u201d and denied \u201crumours about the deterioration in the health of any detainees\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jawhar Ben Mbarek\u2019s sister said his health had \u2018severely deteriorated\u2019 and a \u2018dangerous toxin\u2019 was detected in his body. Published On 15 Nov 202515 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Jailed Tunisian opposition figure Jawhar Ben Mbarek has been hospitalised due to severe dehydration, his family has said, as his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}