The 85-year-old leader of the Ennahda movement lost consciousness in Mornaguia prison, where temperatures reportedly reached 52 degrees Celsius during an intense heat wave. This account comes from the daughter of another imprisoned opposition figure, who was present during the incident.
Rached Ghannouchi, former speaker of the Tunisian parliament and leading figure of the Islamist Ennahda movement, briefly lost consciousness at Mornaguia prison during a visit on Tuesday. Haifa Chebbi, daughter of opposition figure Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, who is also detained at the prison, reported the incident in a live video posted on Facebook after her visit.
According to her, the temperature inside the prison reached 52 degrees Celsius that day. Inmates are confined to cells of approximately 16 square meters and are allowed only two hours of outdoor time per day. Haifa Chebbi confided that she herself struggled to "breathe or even walk alone" upon leaving the premises.
Ghannouchi, 85, has been imprisoned since 2023. On April 30, a sudden deterioration in his health led to his emergency hospitalization before he was returned to Mornaguia prison. His collapse occurred during a heatwave, exacerbating already severely criticized prison conditions.
Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, 81, contributed in 2022 to the creation of the National Salvation Front (FSN), a coalition uniting secular, liberal, and Islamist groups opposed to the rule of President Kais Saied. In 2025, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison, among 37 opposition figures prosecuted for "conspiracy against state security."
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, had described these convictions as "a setback for justice and the rule of law," denouncing a trial "tainted by violations of the rights to a fair trial and due process guarantees" and raising "serious concerns about political motivations."
In her video, Haifa Chebbi was careful not to criticize the prison staff, emphasizing that the guards were doing their best and paying particular attention to elderly inmates. She nevertheless stressed that several imprisoned opposition figures are spending their fourth summer behind bars, specifically mentioning lawyers Abir Moussi and Ayachi Hammami, radio journalist Ziad El Hani, and activist Chaima Issa.
Linking these detentions to a wider crisis marked by water and electricity shortages, she called on Tunisians to act for political change, stating: "We are responsible for everything that happens, whether it is negative or positive."
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