Tunis, Tunisia – Members of Tunisia’s opposition National Salvation Front (NSF) and their supporters have initiated a mass hunger strike in solidarity with detained lawyer Ayachi Hammami and other political prisoners, the NSF announced late Sunday. The strike began Monday.
In a statement, the NSF expressed solidarity with “all detainees who have turned their cells into arenas of struggle against tyranny,” protesting what they described as policies criminalizing political and civil action, as well as freedom of expression. The front also announced its support for a symbolic solidarity hunger strike planned for Monday, with members of its executive board and supporters participating.
The decision comes in response to the hunger strike of political prisoner Ayachi Hammami and other political detainees who answered his call for a collective three-day hunger strike, starting December 22nd. They are protesting the deprivation of their freedom and detention by a judiciary the NSF deems “lacking independence and subject to the executive authority.”
Prior to this, Tunisian lawyers announced on Saturday that they would begin a collective hunger strike on Monday in solidarity with “detainees and prisoners of conscience” and in rejection of what they consider “unfair trials.” The announcement came in a statement signed by 32 lawyers, including former bar association heads Abdelrazak Kilani and Shawki Tabib.
Authorities arrested Hammami on December 2nd, acting on a court ruling sentencing him to five years in prison on charges including “conspiracy against state security.” Hammami previously served as Minister of Human Rights and head of the National Authority for the Defense of Freedoms and Democracy, a non-governmental organization.
The case dates back to February 2023, when opposition politicians, lawyers, and civil society activists were arrested and charged with offenses including “attempting to undermine public order and state security,” “espionage with foreign entities,” and “incitement to chaos or rebellion.” On November 28th, the Tunis Court of Appeal issued prison sentences ranging from 5 to 45 years against the defendants. Among those convicted is the head of the National Salvation Front.
