The jailed leader of Tunisia's Islamist Ennahdha party and key opposition figure Rached Ghannouchi has been hospitalised following a serious deterioration in his health, his party announced on Thursday.
Health Crisis Behind Bars
Ennahdha did not specify when Ghannouchi was hospitalised nor provide details on his condition. The 84-year-old political veteran suffered a serious deterioration in his health, which forced the prison administration to urgently transfer him to a hospital, the party said in a Facebook post. It added that he has been placed under medical surveillance.
The party called for his immediate release, asserting that he is being held arbitrarily. Ghannouchi, a longtime figure in Tunisian politics, was arrested in 2023 and sentenced to a total of more than 40 years in prison on charges including conspiracy against the internal security of the state.
Political Background
Ghannouchi spent 20 years in exile before the 2011 Arab Spring, which brought democracy to Tunisia. Ennahdha won the subsequent elections and remained a powerful force in Tunisian politics for a decade until President Kais Saied's power grab in 2021.
