The imprisoned leader of Tunisia’s primary opposition party has declared his intention to commence a hunger strike until the restrictions imposed on him and other detainees are lifted.
Rached Ghannouchi, aged 82, who leads the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, was apprehended in April and sentenced to a one-year prison term on charges of incitement.
He is the most prominent among the more than 20 critics of Tunisia’s President Kais Saied who have been detained this year.
Since dissolving the country’s parliament, restricting the judiciary’s authority, and granting himself decree-based governance powers, President Saied, elected in 2019, has faced allegations of consolidating power and undermining democratic institutions.