Detained Tunisian flotilla activists' health worsening as hunger strikes continue
Four Tunisian activists detained since March over flotilla fundraising are in deteriorating health; three remain on hunger strike after a court rejected their detention challenge, and 14 more protesters have been jailed.
Four Tunisian activists detained since March over alleged financial irregularities linked to fundraising for the Global Sumud Flotilla are in worsening health, with three still on hunger strike, Al Jazeera reported on Sunday.
Wael Naouar, 41, began his hunger strike on 16 August to protest his continued detention and was transferred to hospital as his condition deteriorated; he suspended the strike after 38 days following appeals from his lawyers and supporters. His father, Hichem, told Al Jazeera that Wael now struggles to see clearly, cannot keep water down without vomiting, is dizzy, and has difficulty controlling his left leg.
Ghassan Henchiri, Ghassan Boughdiri and Nabil Channoufi remain in detention alongside Naouar under investigation by Tunisia’s Economic and Financial Judicial Pole. None of the four has been convicted, and they deny wrongdoing. Henchiri’s father, Sebti, said his son — on hunger strike since 9 September — has not received an outside medical examination for a head injury sustained during his detention in Israel, despite promises that he would.
The Tunis Court of Appeal on Wednesday rejected the defence’s challenge to a four-month extension of pretrial detention ordered on 11 September. Defence committee member Ghassan Ghribi called the extension “an exception to the exception”, arguing freedom should be the rule and detention the exception.
Separately, 14 people detained after a 19 September protest calling for the activists’ release have been placed in pretrial detention, lawyer Rafed Rabbeh told Al Jazeera, including a 17-year-old brought before a juvenile judge.
Tunisian authorities describe the case as a financial investigation into funds raised for the flotilla — an international campaign seeking to deliver aid to Gaza — and say the judiciary is independent. Human Rights Watch has raised concerns over the use of financial and money-laundering investigations against civil society actors in Tunisia.
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