Jawar Ben Mubarek’s sister said his health had “significantly deteriorated” and “dangerous toxins” had been detected in his body.
Published November 15, 2025
Jailed Tunisian opposition leader Jawar Ben Mubarek has been hospitalized due to severe dehydration as his health continues to deteriorate after more than two weeks on hunger strike, his family said.
Ben Mubarek, co-founder of Tunisia’s main opposition coalition National Salvation Front, began a hunger strike on October 29 to protest his detention in prison since February 2023.
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In a Facebook post on Friday, Ben Mubarek’s sister, Dalila Ben Mubarek Msadegh, warned that her brother’s health had “severely deteriorated” and that doctors had detected a “very dangerous toxin” that was affecting his kidneys.
Moussadegh said Ben Mubarek was taken to a hospital on Thursday night where he “received treatment but refused to be fed,” insisting that he would continue his now 17-day protest.
Msadegh added that the politician was discharged from the hospital on Friday afternoon and returned to prison.
On Wednesday, Ben Mubarek’s lawyer, Hanen Kumily, said he had been “tortured” by guards who tried to forcefully end a protest at Berri prison.
“He was badly beaten and there were broken bones and bruises on his body,” Kumily said, adding that he had filed a complaint with prosecutors, who promised to investigate.
“He said he was severely beaten by four correctional officers in an area where there were no surveillance cameras,” she said.
Ben Mubarek is one of the most prominent opponents of Tunisian strongman President Kais Saied, who has been in power since 2019.
In April, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for “conspiracy against national security” and “membership of a terrorist group” in a mass trial of opposition figures accused by human rights groups of being politically motivated.
Ben Mubarek denies the charges, saying they were fabricated.
Rights groups have warned of a sharp decline in civil liberties in Tunisia since Mr Said took a major power grab in July 2021, dissolving parliament and expanding executive powers to allow him to rule by decree.
The decree was later included in a new constitution and approved in a widely boycotted referendum in 2022. Media members and lawyers critical of Mr. Said have also been charged and detained under strict “fake news” laws enacted that year.
Last week, Ben Mubarek’s family and prominent members of Tunisia’s political opposition announced they would join Ben Mubarek’s mass hunger strike.
Among the participants was Essam Chebbi, the leader of the centrist al-Jumhouri (Republican Party) party, who was also imprisoned after being convicted in the same mass trial as Ben Mubarek earlier this year.
Ratched Ghannoushi, 84, the leader of the Annahada party who is also serving a heavy prison sentence, said he would take part in the protests. The current status of Chebbi and Ghannoushi is unknown.
Prison authorities insisted the men were under “continuous medical supervision” and denied “rumors that the detainees’ health condition was deteriorating.”
