Tunisian flotilla activists remain jailed as hunger striker worsens 

Tunis, Tunisia – Six months after Tunisian authorities began arresting organisers of a pro-Palestinian flotilla, four activists remain in pre-trial detention, with growing concern over the health of one of them, who has been on hunger strike for more than three weeks.

Wael Naouar, a Tunisian activist and member of the steering committee of the Global Sumud Flotilla, began his hunger strike on August 16 to protest his continued detention.

His lawyer, Bassem Trifi, who is also president of the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH), said on Tuesday that Naouar was entering his 24th day without food and described his condition as “very serious”.

Trifi, who visited Naouar in prison last week, said the activist had lost 18kg (40lb) and was suffering from low blood pressure and low blood sugar, as well as difficulty breathing, walking and speaking. He was also experiencing pain throughout his body, particularly in his stomach, Trifi said.

Anis Harrathi, an activist and member of the committee supporting the detainees, said Naouar was aware of the physical risks of a prolonged hunger strike, but had chosen to continue because he believed remaining silent was more perilous than continuing his strike.

“Wael knows very well the risks of a hunger strike,” Harrathi told Al Jazeera. “Yet he chose to put his body in confrontation with an entire system, because there comes a moment when silence becomes more dangerous than hunger.”

Harrathi said Naouar’s protest was not about personal heroism but what he sees as a broader injustice affecting him and the other detainees.

“Wael is not protesting only against his imprisonment,” Harrathi said. “He is protesting against a logic that wants to turn prison into a tool used to silence opposing voices, turn solidarity with Palestine into a charge, and turn civil and political activism into a security case.”

What are the activists accused of?

Seven activists were initially detained in connection with the investigation in March. Three have since been released, leaving Naouar and three others, Nabil Channoufi, Ghassan Henchiri and Ghassan Boughdiri, in pre-trial detention.

The case remains under judicial investigation, and none of the four has been convicted of an offence.

The investigation was ordered by Tunisia’s Economic and Financial Judicial Pole, a specialised body that handles major economic and financial cases, over what state news agency TAP described, citing a judicial source, as “suspicious financial flows” received by organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla.

Investigators have been examining the origin and use of the funds and whether they were diverted for purposes unrelated to the flotilla.

Trifi said the investigation concerns allegations including money laundering, aggravated breach of trust, and forgery. He argued that the fundraising activities at the centre of the case were part of a solidarity campaign and should not be treated in the same way as ordinary financial transactions subject to public procurement and accounting rules.

He also said the fundraising took place at a known location “under the protection of the security services and under the eyes of the state”.

Tunisian authorities have not publicly detailed the allegations against the four or responded to requests for comment on their detention and Naouar’s health.

Supporters of the detainees reject the allegations and say the case is aimed at criminalising solidarity with Palestinians and efforts to organise another flotilla towards Gaza. The Global Sumud Flotilla has described the allegations as unfounded and called for the activists’ release.

“What is happening to him [Naouar] and the other detainees cannot be treated as simply a separate judicial case detached from its political context,” Harrathi told Al Jazeera.

The case comes amid growing international criticism of Tunisia’s treatment of civil society groups and activists.

A Human Rights Watch report published last week documented what it described as the “weaponisation” of financial and criminal investigations, alongside arrests, detention and administrative measures, against civil society organisations and their members in the country. The group said at least 47 people connected to NGOs in Tunisia had been prosecuted and at least 14 convicted and sentenced to prison since 2025.

Human Rights Watch said authorities had used financial crime and money-laundering laws against human rights defenders and NGO workers, raising concerns that such investigations were being used to intimidate and restrict civic space.

Meanwhile, Rachid Othmani, a member of the National Committee for Defense of Sumud Flotilla Activists, spoke at a solidarity rally in Tunis on Sunday, saying supporters would not be intimidated by prison or repression and would continue their campaign until the detainees were freed.

“Our eyes and hearts are with our comrade Wael, who is standing firm in the face of death,” Othmani said. “His life and his legacy will be longer and greater than those of those holding him.”

Brazilian activist Thiago Avila, who took part in the flotilla and was previously detained by Israel, has also called for the Tunisian activists to be released, saying no one should be detained for acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

The human rights group HuMENA has also called for their release, saying the continued pre-trial detention raises concerns over due process and the criminalisation of peaceful civic activity.

Wider political context

The arrests have unfolded amid growing restrictions on civil society and political activity in Tunisia under President Kais Saied.

Saied has consolidated power across state institutions since 2021, when he suspended parliament, dismissed the government, and began ruling by decree. His government has faced sustained criticism from rights groups, which accuse authorities of using prosecutions and prolonged pre-trial detention against political opponents, journalists, lawyers and activists.

Saied and his government have rejected accusations that prosecutions are politically motivated and have maintained that the judiciary operates independently.

The four activists are due to appear in court on September 16, and Naouar’s hunger strike is now entering its fourth week.

Despite his deteriorating health, Trifi said Naouar remains determined to continue his hunger strike. When asked how far he thought Naouar was prepared to take it, Trifi pointed to a phrase the activist often tells his wife when he is detained: “Until the stars burn out.”