TUNIS: A prominent Tunisian opposition figure has been hospitalized due to severe dehydration after over two weeks on hunger strike, his family said on Friday.
Jawhar Ben Mbarek, co-founder of the National Salvation Front, Tunisia’s main opposition alliance, has been detained since February 2023.
His relatives have warned that his health condition has “severely deteriorated” due to the hunger strike he launched to protest his imprisonment.
His sister, Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddek, said in a Facebook post that doctors detected “a highly dangerous toxin” affecting Ben Mbarek’s kidneys caused by his protest.
Ben Mbarek “received treatment but refused nutritional supplements” at the hospital where he was transferred on Thursday night, insisting on continuing his now 17-day hunger strike, Msaddek said.
She said he was released and returned to prison on Friday afternoon.
On Wednesday, his family and lawyer said guards at the Belli prison where he is being held had beaten him.
Ben Mbarek’s lawyer, Hanen Khemiri, said she had filed a complaint to the public prosecutor alleging torture.
Prison authorities opened an investigation into the incident, his defense team said.
In April, after more than two years of pre-trial detention, Ben Mbarek was sentenced to 18 years behind bars on charges of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group” in a mass trial criticized by rights groups.
Rights groups have warned of a sharp decline in civil liberties in Tunisia since a sweeping power grab by President Kais Saied in July 2021.
Many of the president’s critics are currently behind bars.
Several other opposition figures – including Rached Ghannouchi, the 84-year-old leader of the Ennahdha party who is also serving hefty prison sentences on similar charges – have launched a hunger strike in solidarity with Ben Mbarek.
Prison authorities have previously denied “the rumors about the deterioration in the health of any detainees, including those claiming to be on hunger strike,” maintaining they were under “continuous medical supervision.”
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Tunisia opposition figure on hunger strike hospitalized: family
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Tunisia opposition figure on hunger strike hospitalized: family
- His relatives have warned that his health condition has “severely deteriorated” due to the hunger strike he launched
Romanian president to attend Washington ‘Board of Peace’ meeting as observer
Bucharest — ROU
Bucharest, Feb 15, 2026 : Romanian President Nicusor Dan announced on Sunday that he would attend as observer the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace.”
“Next week I will take part in the first meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, responding to the invitation addressed by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump,” Dan wrote on X, after having recently said that his country was still considering whether to join the body, of which Trump is the chairman.
The board, originally intended to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after two years of the Israel-Hamas war, is set to have its first meeting on February 19 in Washington.
Its permanent members must pay $1 billion to join, which lead to criticisms that the board could become a “pay-to-play” version of the UN Security Council.
“Romania will have observer status and I will reaffirm our strong support for international peace efforts and our willingness to participate in the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip,” Dan added on X on Sunday.
Earlier this week, the Romanian president told reporters that Romania is interested in taking part in the Washington talks as the country “has traditional relations with both Israel and the Arab countries in the region,” adding that “the situation in Gaza is important for Europe.”
Since Trump launched his “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.
Some countries, including Croatia, France, Italy, New Zealand and Norway, have declined to join, while others like Romania have said they could only consider doing so if its charter were changed.
ani/oaa/sbk
X
Bucharest, Feb 15, 2026 : Romanian President Nicusor Dan announced on Sunday that he would attend as observer the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace.”
“Next week I will take part in the first meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, responding to the invitation addressed by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump,” Dan wrote on X, after having recently said that his country was still considering whether to join the body, of which Trump is the chairman.
The board, originally intended to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after two years of the Israel-Hamas war, is set to have its first meeting on February 19 in Washington.
Its permanent members must pay $1 billion to join, which lead to criticisms that the board could become a “pay-to-play” version of the UN Security Council.
“Romania will have observer status and I will reaffirm our strong support for international peace efforts and our willingness to participate in the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip,” Dan added on X on Sunday.
Earlier this week, the Romanian president told reporters that Romania is interested in taking part in the Washington talks as the country “has traditional relations with both Israel and the Arab countries in the region,” adding that “the situation in Gaza is important for Europe.”
Since Trump launched his “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.
Some countries, including Croatia, France, Italy, New Zealand and Norway, have declined to join, while others like Romania have said they could only consider doing so if its charter were changed.
ani/oaa/sbk
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