Lawyers say jailed Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi is in critical health

Lawyers for jailed Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi said on Thursday that his health was critical after reports that the 85-year-old fainted and suffered severe exhaustion while barred from family visits. Ghannouchi, the leader of the Ennahdha party, has received prison sentences totalling more than 40 years in separate cases, including over accusations of conspiracy against state security. He has also been sentenced to life imprisonment in another case. His lawyers said in a statement that they were deeply concerned about what they called a serious deterioration in his health. They said authorities had refused to allow visits by his lawyers or family members despite his condition, calling this a violation of law and prisoners' rights. Ghannouchi was arrested in 2023. In a separate case last month, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and a 30-year prison term over accusations that he established a secret security apparatus serving Ennahdha. Ennahdha won Tunisia's post-revolution elections in 2011 and played a key role in Tunisian politics for years before Ghannouchi received multiple prison terms. Ghannouchi was speaker of parliament when President Kais Saied made a power grab in the summer of 2021. Tunisia became the Arab world's only democracy after the 2011 ouster of longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, which began the Arab Spring uprisings. Local and international NGOs say rights and freedoms have regressed since Saied came to power in 2019.