Opposition leader Gannushi in Tunisian prison begins hunger strike

Rashid el-Gannushi, leader of the Ennahda Movement, which is in prison in Tunisia, has started a hunger strike.
It was reported that Rashid el-Gannushi, the leader of the main opposition party, the Ennahda Movement, started a hunger strike in prison in Tunisia. Party spokesman Imed Khemiri said in a statement that Gannushi, 82, started the hunger strike yesterday to draw attention to the plight of political prisoners and the violation of their freedoms, demanding a return to democracy in the country.

Gannushi, the leader of the Ennahda Movement, which came to power after the 2011 revolution in Tunisia, was arrested on April 20, 2023, as part of an investigation into “conspiracy against state security.” Last week, six opposition politicians detained in the same investigation started a hunger strike demanding to be tried without detention.
Gannushi was also sentenced to three years in prison on February 1 for receiving foreign funding during the 2019 election campaigns.

Political crisis in Tunisia
Tunisian President Kays Said dismissed the then prime minister on July 25, 2021, citing “the country being in danger,” and suspended the powers of parliament. Said expanded his powers by signing a decree on September 22, 2021, also bringing the executive branch under his control. Said announced in February 2022 that the High Judicial Council had been dissolved and that a referendum on constitutional amendments would be held on July 25, 2022. In the referendum, which had a turnout of 30.5%, the new constitution was approved by 94.6% of the vote. Following the change in the constitution, the powers of parliament were also restricted.

The opposition accuses Kays Said of silencing the press and imposing authoritarian rule, arguing that the constitutional amendment has shattered the democracy built after the 2011 revolution. Said, who rejects these allegations, stated that those who criticize him will be considered guilty, traitors to the country, and terrorists, and that judges who release them will be considered accomplices.