Tunisia bars family, lawyers from seeing Ghannouchi after prison collapse

Rached Ghannouchi, a prominent Tunisian opposition figure and former parliament speaker, has been isolated from contact with his family and legal representatives for over a week following a health crisis at Mornaguia prison. His son, Moadh Ghannouchi, described the situation to media as resembling enforced disappearance, noting that the last confirmed lawyer visit occurred days before his father temporarily lost consciousness on July 17.

The family has faced repeated refusal of hospital visitation requests, including formal submissions to the public prosecutor's office, leaving them without official confirmation of his current location or medical status. Conflicting reports on social media have placed him at various medical facilities, including Rabta public hospital and a military hospital, but authorities have declined to provide clarification. Ghannouchi's defense team and the Ennahda party have publicly demanded information about his condition.

According to witnesses, temperatures inside the prison facility reached 52 degrees Celsius during the period preceding his collapse. His son attributed his father's health deterioration to confinement in an air-conditioned-free environment during severe heat, characterizing the conditions as deliberately harmful. Ghannouchi has pre-existing conditions including high blood pressure and respiratory difficulties.

The 85-year-old has been detained since April 2023 following a life sentence conviction that supporters contend was politically motivated. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention previously determined his detention to be arbitrary and called for his release, a determination the family says authorities have disregarded. International organizations including Amnesty International have called for prisoner protections during the heatwave.