hunger strike - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Tunisia opposition leader Ghannouchi begins hunger strike in prison

IMPRISONED Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi went on a hunger strike in solidarity with other anti-government figures waging a protest fast to demand their immediate release, a team of opposition lawyers said. Ghannouchi, 82, a fierce critic of President Kais Saied and head of the Ennahda main opposition party, was jailed last year on charges of incitement against police and plotting against state security. Earlier this month in a separate case a judge sentenced him to three years in prison on charges of accepting external financing. "While he is fighting the 'empty stomach' battle, Ghannouchi calls on Tunisians to adhere to a democratic Tunisia…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Tunisian opposition figure Moussi begins hunger strike in prison

NEWS

ABIR Moussi, a prominent opponent of Tunisian President Kais Saied, went on a hunger strike in prison to protest what her lawyers said was a violation of her rights to freedom and political activity. A judge last month ordered Moussi's imprisonment after police arrested her at the presidential palace entrance on suspicion of assault intended to cause chaos, part of a crackdown on opposition politicians. Moussi is the leader of the Free Constitutional Party (PDL), which warned in a statement against "attempts to fabricate legal obstacles to remove her from participating in the presidential elections" expected next year. Her lawyers said in…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Gaddafi’s son critical in hospital

NEWS

HANNIBAL Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been moved from a Lebanese prison to a hospital in "critical condition", Dubai-based Al-Hadath TV reported. Gaddafi went on hunger strike last month in protest at his incarceration without trial since 2015. Citing unidentified sources, Al-Hadath said he had suffered a sharp drop in his blood sugar level. Gaddafi has been charged in Lebanon with concealing information about the fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr, a Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim cleric who disappeared while on a trip to Libya in 1978. Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebels in 2011. Thomson Reuters…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Gaddafi’s son on hunger strike

NEWS

A son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been treated in a hospital in Lebanon after going on a hunger strike two weeks ago in protest at his incarceration without trial since 2015, the Lebanese interior minister said. Hannibal Gaddafi has been detained in Lebanon since a prosecutor charged him with concealing information about the fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr, a Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim cleric who disappeared while on a trip to Libya in 1978. Declaring his decision to go on hunger strike earlier this month, Hannibal Gaddafi - aged two at the time of Sadr's disappearance - said…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Tunisia detainees start hunger strike

NEWS

THREE prominent opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saied who were arrested last month and accused of conspiring against state security have gone on hunger strike, their lawyer and the son of one of them said. Former finance minister Khayam Turki, Attayar party co-founder Ghazi Chaouachi and protest leader Jawher Ben Mbarek were all detained as part of a crackdown on leading critics of Saied that has drawn a rebuke from rights organisations. Islam Hamza, a lawyer for the three men, said they had all begun a hunger strike. Chaouachi's son Youssef told Reuters authorities had told him they were moving…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Hunger striker’s sister arrives in Egypt to campaign for his release

NEWS

THE sister of an Egyptian-British hunger striker landed in Sharm el-Sheikh to campaign for his release from jail as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other world leaders flew in for the COP27 climate summit. Abd el-Fattah rose to prominence during Egypt's 2011 popular uprising but has been detained for most of the period since. Sentenced most recently in December 2021 to five years on charges of spreading false news, he has been on hunger strike for 220 days against his detention and prison conditions. Sunak said on Monday that he had raised Abd el-Fattah's case with Egypt's president and that he hoped to see…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Rights groups, family sound alarm over prominent Bahraini hunger striker

WORLD

LISA BARRINGTON A prominent imprisoned Bahraini opposition figure has lost 10 kg during the first three weeks of a hunger strike, a family member has said, as rights groups called for his release and the return of a confiscated manuscript he had written. Abduljalil al-Singace was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2011 alongside a number of other Shi'ite Muslim activists and opposition leaders for their roles in an uprising in the Gulf island state ruled by a U.S.-backed, Sunni Muslim monarchy. Singace, who also staged a 10-month hunger strike in 2015-2016, has refused food since July 8, demanding better treatment…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Jailed Kremlin critic Navalny starts ending his hunger strike

WORLD

ANDREW OSBORN and TOM BALMFORTH JAILED Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said yesterday he would begin gradually ending a hunger strike he had called to demand proper medical care, suggesting that support inside Russia and the West had got him much of what he needed. Navalny announced an end to his hunger strike on its 24th day after a medical trade union that supports him and which has treated him in the past appealed to him to start eating again or risk death. The worsening health of Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent domestic opponent, and the authorities' initial failure…