A court in Tunisia has decided to extend for another four months the preventive detention measure imposed on four Tunisian activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, arrested in Tunisian territory and currently on hunger strike in protest of their imprisonment.
These are Wael Nawar, Nabil Chanufi, Ghassan Henchiri, and Ghassan Bughdiri, detained almost half a year ago for their participation in the Sumud Flotilla mission, whose objective was to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip challenging the Israeli blockade.
Nawar reaches this Sunday 28 days of hunger strike and his condition "seriously endangers his life," according to the Global Sumud Flotilla, while Henchiri urgently needs a surgical intervention.
The lawyers who have been able to interview the activists in El Mornaguia prison have indicated that Nawar "suffers from severe stomach pain, extreme exhaustion, inability to stand or walk continuously, and has great difficulty speaking."
"Nawar's health deteriorates (...) with a lack of electrolytes aggravated by the waves of extreme heat that accelerate his physical deterioration to levels typical from day 30 of hunger strike," the organization has warned, emphasizing that in the last three weeks 20 inmates have died in Tunisian prisons due to the heat.
As for Bughdiri, he suffers from a rash that affects his entire body, while Henchiri requires surgery for the injuries sustained during his participation in the flotilla and also presents a rash due to "inadequate medical attention." According to the Global Sumud Flotilla, the situation of the four imprisoned violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Therefore, the Global Sumud Flotilla demands the "immediate and unconditional" release of the four activists, that they be provided with external medical treatment, the withdrawal of politically motivated charges, and the end of all restrictions on political activity that weigh on other militants.