Jailed opposition leader Ghannouchi faints in Tunisian prison due to heat

play Live Sign upShow navigation menuNavigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastExplainedSportOpinionVideoMoreShow more sectionsFeaturesEconomyHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravelSponsored Contentplay Live Click here to searchsearchSign upNavigation menucaret-leftTrendingUS-Israel war on IranTracking Israel's ceasefire violationsDonald Trumpcaret-rightNews|PrisonJailed opposition leader Ghannouchi faints in Tunisian prison due to heatThe incident was witnessed by the daughter of Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, another prominent political prisoner. xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoRached Ghannouchi, leader of Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party in Tunis, Tunisia November 13, 2019 [File: Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]By Mariem BahPublished On 23 Jul 202623 Jul 2026An intense heatwave has worsened the already harsh conditions faced by inmates at Tunisia’s Mornaguia prison and recently caused jailed opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi to temporarily lose consciousness, according to the daughter of another prominent political prisoner who says she witnessed the incident. Haifa Chebbi, daughter of imprisoned 81-year-old opposition politician Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, said in an emotional live video posted on Facebook after a visit to the jail on Tuesday that she saw the 85-year-old Ghannouchi faint in the stifling heat and she felt barely able “to breathe or even walk on my own feet” by the time she left. She said the temperature inside Mornaguia prison reached 52 degrees Celsius (126 degrees Fahrenheit) during her visit. Detainees spend most of their time confined to cells no larger than 16 square metres (172 square feet), she added, and are only allowed to spend two hours a day outside. In 2022 her father helped establish the National Salvation Front (FSN), a broad coalition of secular, liberal and Islamist groups opposed to the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied. He was among 37 opposition figures charged with “conspiracy against state security” in 2025, and was sentenced to 12 years in jail. United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk described the imprisonment of the 37 defendants as “a setback to justice and rule of law”. “The process was marred by violations of fair trial and due process rights, raising serious concerns about political motivations,” Turk said in a statement in 2025. Ghannouchi, a former parliament speaker and leader of the Ennahda political movement, has been imprisoned since 2023. He was rushed to hospital on April 30 following a sharp deterioration in his health, but is now back in Mornaguia prison. In her video, Haifa was careful not to blame prison staff for conditions in the jail, saying they were doing everything they could and that elderly prisoners in particular were receiving special attention. She said the incident she witnessed highlighted the toll prison conditions are taking on elderly inmates, several of whom are spending their fourth summer behind bars. She named several other imprisoned opposition figures, including lawyers Abir Moussi and Ayachi Hammami, prominent radio journalist Ziad El Hani, and activist Chaima Issa. Linking the detentions to wider unrest over water and electricity shortages, Haifa said the crisis extends beyond prison walls. She called on Tunisians to take action to achieve meaningful political change, saying: “We are responsible for everything that will happen, whether negative or positive.” Advertisement AboutAboutShow moreAbout UsCode of EthicsTerms and ConditionsEU/EEA Regulatory NoticePrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyCookie PreferencesAccessibility StatementSitemapWork for usConnectConnectShow moreContact UsUser Accounts HelpAdvertise with usStay ConnectedNewslettersChannel FinderTV SchedulePodcastsSubmit a TipPaid Partner ContentOur ChannelsOur ChannelsShow moreAl Jazeera ArabicAl Jazeera EnglishAl Jazeera Investigative UnitAl Jazeera MubasherAl Jazeera DocumentaryAl Jazeera BalkansAJ+Our NetworkOur NetworkShow moreAl Jazeera Centre for StudiesAl Jazeera Media InstituteLearn ArabicAl Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human RightsAl Jazeera ForumAl Jazeera Hotel PartnersFollow Al Jazeera English: