Tunisia/ Adel Al-Thabeti/ Anadolu

The head of the Ennahda movement and former Speaker of the Tunisian Parliament, Rached Ghannouchi, fainted on Friday in his detention at the Mornaguia prison, west of the capital, due to the heatwave sweeping Tunisia these days, according to a Tunisian lawyer.

This came according to a testimony given by lawyer Haifa Al-Shabi on Tuesday in a video clip on the American company Meta's platform Facebook, after visiting her father, head of the National Salvation Front, Ahmed Najib Al-Shabi (82 years old), in Mornaguia prison.

Al-Shabi said crying: 'I left Mornaguia prison devastated. The air was cut off and the temperature reached 50 degrees Celsius. I feel pain for the condition of my father and my uncle (Essam Al-Shabi) and my friends whom I left in those conditions.'

Al-Shabi added: 'On Friday, I saw Sheikh Rached Ghannouchi (85 years old) after his return from the hospital in the lawyers' office at the prison (a place designated for lawyers to visit their clients), and he had fainted from the extreme heat.'

Al-Shabi continued: 'We as a people, elite, and responsible politicians, do not know when we will hear bad news; lifespans are in God's hands,' referring to the possibility of a prisoner's death.

Tunisia is experiencing a heatwave during which temperatures exceeded 45 degrees Celsius in most areas.

According to the Tunisian Weather and Climate Observatory, an independent body, the city of Kairouan on Tuesday was the second hottest city in the world, recording 49.6 degrees Celsius, after the Saudi city of Yanbu, where temperatures reached 50 degrees Celsius.

Months ago, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention demanded the release of Ennahda movement leader Rached Ghannouchi, considering his imprisonment as 'arbitrary detention contrary to international law.'

It is worth noting that Ghannouchi has been detained since his arrest on April 17, 2023, after his home was raided, before a court ordered his imprisonment in a case related to statements attributed to him, on charges of 'inciting against state security.'

Several prison sentences have also been issued against Ghannouchi in various cases, while he insists on not attending the trials, considering them to involve 'political reasons.'

On more than one occasion, Tunisian President Kais Saied has affirmed that the judicial system in his country is independent, stressing that he does not interfere in its work.