An intense heatwave has worsened the already harsh conditions faced by inmates at Tunisia’s Mornaguia prison, causing jailed opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi to temporarily lose consciousness, according to the daughter of another prominent political prisoner who witnessed the incident.

Haifa Chebbi, daughter of imprisoned 81-year-old opposition politician Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, said in an emotional Facebook live video that the temperature inside the 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 meters (172 square feet) and are only allowed two hours outside daily.

Her father helped establish the National Salvation Front (FSN) in 2022, a broad coalition opposing President Kais Saied’s increasingly authoritarian rule. He was among 37 opposition figures charged with “conspiracy against state security” in 2025 and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk described the imprisonment of the 37 defendants as “a setback to justice and rule of law,” citing violations of fair trial and due process rights and raising concerns about political motivations.

Ghannouchi, former parliament speaker and leader of the Ennahda movement, has been imprisoned since 2023. He was rushed to hospital on April 30 after a sharp health deterioration but has since been returned to Mornaguia.

Haifa Chebbi did not blame prison staff, saying they were doing their best and that elderly inmates receive special attention. She linked the detentions to wider unrest over water and electricity shortages, calling on Tunisians to take action for meaningful political change.

Source: www.aljazeera.com