Detained Tunisian flotilla activists: Worsening health amid family anguish

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that four Tunisian activists tied to the Global Sumud Flotilla remain in pretrial detention as their families describe worsening health and emotional strain. The men — Wael Naouar, Ghassan Henchiri, Ghassan Boughdiri and Nabil Channoufi — have been held since March in connection with a Tunisian financial and economic inquiry into fundraising for the flotilla, which aimed to deliver aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade. The activists and their lawyers deny wrongdoing and say the case should not keep them in prison while the investigation continues.

The article focuses on Naouar’s family, who say his condition has declined during a hunger strike he began in mid-August. His father said Naouar has shown dizziness, vomiting, and difficulty using one leg, and that the separation has also affected his children, one of whom is struggling at school and another too young to understand the detention. The report says Naouar later suspended the strike after 38 days following appeals from supporters and lawyers, while the other three men remain on hunger strike.

Al Jazeera also says the Tunis Court of Appeal rejected a challenge to the latest extension of the men’s pretrial detention, leaving them held for another four months. The court action comes amid broader tensions in Tunisia, where authorities say the case is a normal judicial matter and reject claims that the legal system is being used to silence dissent.

The article adds that the fallout has spread beyond the four activists, with 14 people detained after a September 19 protest in their support also placed in pretrial detention, including a 17-year-old.