Tunisia Prisoners Collapse as Heatwave Reaches Deadly Temperatures Inside Cells

An intense heatwave has turned Tunisia's Mornaguia prison into a deadly trap, forcing inmates to endure temperatures soaring to 52 degrees Celsius. The scorching conditions recently caused jailed opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi to faint inside his cell. Haifa Chebbi, the daughter of fellow prisoner Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, witnessed the moment and shared her horror in a live Facebook video posted Tuesday. She said she felt barely able to breathe or walk by the time she left the facility after seeing the 85-year-old Ghannouchi collapse from the stifling heat.

The elderly inmates are confined to cells no larger than 16 square meters for most of the day, with only two hours allowed outside. Haifa Chebbi noted that her father, an 81-year-old opposition politician, helped establish the National Salvation Front in 2022 to oppose President Kais Saied's increasingly authoritarian rule. He was among 37 figures charged with conspiracy against state security last year and sentenced to 12 years in jail. United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk condemned this mass imprisonment as a setback to justice, stating the process violated fair trial rights and raised serious concerns about political motivations.

Ghannouchi, a former parliament speaker who led the Ennahda movement, has been behind bars since 2023. He was rushed to a hospital on April 30 after his health sharply deteriorated but has since returned to Mornaguia. In her video, Haifa Chebbi refused to blame prison staff, noting they were doing everything possible and that elderly prisoners received special attention. Yet she emphasized the heavy toll these conditions take, especially for inmates spending their fourth summer in confinement.

Other detained opposition figures include lawyers Abir Moussi and Ayachi Hammami, radio journalist Ziad El Hani, and activist Chaima Issa. Haifa linked these arrests to wider unrest over water and electricity shortages that plague the country. She urged Tunisians to take action for meaningful political change, declaring: "We are responsible for everything that will happen, whether negative or positive." The crisis extends far beyond prison walls, threatening the stability of a nation already reeling from resource scarcity.