Imprisoned opposition leader Ghannouchi faints in Tunisian prison from heat stroke | Prison News

The incident was witnessed by the daughter of Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, a prominent political prisoner.

The extreme heat has caused inmates in the Mornaguia prison in Tunisia to start another crisis and has recently led to the release of a jailed opposition leader. Rached Ghannouchi temporary coma, according to the daughter of a prominent political prisoner who allegedly witnessed the incident.

Haifa Chebbi, the daughter of 81-year-old opposition politician Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, said with emotion. live video wrote on Facebook after visiting the prison on Tuesday that he saw the 85-year-old Ghannouchi passed out from the heat and that he could not “breathe or walk with my feet” when he left.

He said the temperature inside Mornaguia prison reached 52 degrees Celsius (126 degrees Fahrenheit) during his visit. Detainees spend most of their time in cells no larger than 16 square meters (172 square meters), he added, and are allowed two hours a day outside.

In 2022 his father helped establish the National Salvation Front (FSN), a large coalition of religious, liberal and Islamist groups against the repressive regime of President Kais Saied. He was among 37 defendants charged with “conspiracy against state security” in 2025, and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, described the arrest of the 37 accused as “restoring justice and the rule of law”.

“The process was hampered by the violation of fair trials and the right to follow, which caused political concerns,” Mr. Turk said in 2025.

Ghannouchi, a former parliament speaker and leader of the Ennahda political group, has been in prison since 2023. rushed to the hospital on April 30 following the deterioration of his health, but he has now returned to Mornaguia prison.

In her video, Haifa was careful not to blame prison staff for the prison’s conditions, saying they were doing their best and that elderly prisoners in particular were receiving special care.

He said that what he saw showed how the prisons are dealing with elderly inmates, many of whom are in their fourth summer behind bars.

He also named several others who were arrested, including lawyers Abir Moussi and Ayachi Hammama famous radio journalist Ziad El Haniand freedom fighter Chaima Issa.

Regarding the arrest and the growing chaos due to the lack of water and electricity, Haifa said the problem extends beyond the prison walls. He called on the Tunisian people to take action to achieve political change, saying: “We are responsible for everything that happens, whether it’s bad or good.”