Tunisia: Third imprisoned opposition leader begins hunger strike

On November 8th, it was announced that Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi had begun a hunger strike to shed light on his “unjust imprisonment” and poor jail conditions, according to Reuters.

Tunisian opposition politician Jawhar Ben Mbarek was the first to launch this latest wave of hunger strikes on October 29th. He was later joined by Issam Chebbi, the Republican Party leader, on November 7th to demand their immediate release based on “unjust imprisonment”.

In April 2025, multiple opponents were given exceedingly long sentences, with some reaching 66 years, under the guise of “conspiracy against state security”, and Ghannouchi was given a 37-year sentence for “illicit foreign financing and conspiracy against the state”.

Reuters, Maghrebi.org