Tunisia Faces Return to Authoritarianism as Ghannouchi Joins Hunger Strike in Solidarity with Jailed Opposition Leaders
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\nMore than a decade after leading the Arab Spring uprisings, Tunisia is witnessing what observers describe as a \u201creproduction of dictatorship.\u201d <\/p>\n
More details in the following report:<\/p>\n
Rached Ghannouchi, the imprisoned leader of the Ennahda Movement, has begun a hunger strike in solidarity with detained opposition figures protesting political repression.<\/p>\n
According to Middle East News, Ghannouchi launched his strike in support of Jawhar Ben Mubarak, a leader of the National Salvation Front, and Issam Chebbi, head of the Republican Party of Tunisia\u2014both of whom have been on indefinite hunger strikes in prison. Annahar newspaper reported that Ben Mubarak\u2019s health has seriously deteriorated, according to his family and lawyers.<\/p>\n
Ghannouchi, who has been imprisoned since 2023, is serving a 37-year sentence on charges of \u201cconspiracy against state security\u201d and \u201creceiving illegal foreign funding.\u201d He has repeatedly denounced Tunisia\u2019s judiciary as lacking independence and operating under the control of President Kais Saied.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Tunisian courts sentenced several opposition leaders\u2014including Ben Mubarak and Chebbi\u2014to prison terms ranging from five to 66 years on similar charges. Human rights groups and opposition parties condemned the trials as politically motivated and aimed at silencing dissent.<\/p>\n
Analysts warn that the widespread arrests and convictions of government critics mark a sharp regression toward authoritarian rule in the country once seen as the Arab Spring\u2019s only democratic success story.<\/p>\n
Ghannouchi\u2019s hunger strike, observers say, represents a symbolic act of resistance against political persecution and an appeal to the international community to address Tunisia\u2019s deteriorating human rights situation. The ongoing clampdown has raised growing alarm about the erosion of civil liberties, the weakening of democratic institutions, and the consolidation of one-man rule under President Saied.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tunisia Faces Return to Authoritarianism as Ghannouchi Joins Hunger Strike in Solidarity with Jailed Opposition Leaders ———————————————– More than a decade after leading the Arab Spring uprisings, Tunisia is witnessing what observers describe as a \u201creproduction of dictatorship.\u201d More details in the following report: Rached Ghannouchi, the imprisoned leader of the Ennahda Movement, has begun …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[6734],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tunisia"],"yoast_head":"\n