Tunis court upholds detention of four flotilla activists amid health concerns

The Tunis Court of Appeal has rejected a challenge to the continued pretrial detention of four activists held in connection with an investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving fundraising for the Global Sumud Flotilla.

Wael Naouar, Ghassan Henchiri, Ghassan Boughdiri and Nabil Channoufi have been detained since March. The court’s decision on Wednesday left them in custody for a further four months, following an extension ordered on September 11.

The investigation is being conducted by Tunisia’s Economic and Financial Judicial Pole. Judicial sources cited by the state-owned TAP news agency said investigators were examining the origin and use of money collected for the flotilla, including whether any funds were diverted for other purposes.

The four men and their defence team deny wrongdoing. None of the activists has been convicted.

Health concerns during hunger strikes

Naouar began a hunger strike on August 16 and suspended it after 38 days, following appeals from lawyers and supporters. He was transferred to hospital after his condition deteriorated, but said he had not abandoned his demands.

His father, Hichem Naouar, told Al Jazeera that his son had recently struggled to see clearly and keep water down without vomiting. He also described Naouar as dizzy and having difficulty controlling his left leg.

Henchiri, Boughdiri and Channoufi remained on hunger strike after the appeal court ruling. Henchiri began his strike on September 9, according to his father, Sebti Henchiri.

Sebti Henchiri said his son remained conscious but was visibly exhausted. He also said that Ghassan had not been taken outside prison for further medical examinations of a head injury he sustained during detention in Israel. The family had raised the matter with prison authorities and the investigating judge, he said.

Henchiri’s father also reported that his son lives with one kidney, suffers from back problems and has a skin rash. A request for a dermatology consultation was rejected because the prison doctor did not consider the rash serious, according to Sebti.

“The fatigue is visible. He is exhausted, but he is still conscious,” Sebti said, according to the report. He added that Ghassan had conveyed the following message: “I will remain steadfast, I will not give up my right and these malicious accusations are false.”

Defence criticises detention extension

Ghassan Ghribi, a member of the defence committee, criticised the decision to extend the activists’ detention. He said the investigating judge had spent six months on the case without carrying out investigative work other than questioning the activists.

Ghribi described the latest extension as an “exception to the exception”, arguing that freedom should be the rule and detention the exception.

Tunisian authorities have presented the case as a financial investigation rather than a prosecution linked to the activists’ political or pro-Palestinian activities. The government rejects accusations that the judiciary is being used to silence opponents, maintaining that the judiciary is independent and that proceedings follow the law.

Human Rights Watch has raised broader concerns about the use of financial and money-laundering investigations against civil society actors in Tunisia.

Families describe impact of detentions

The detentions have also affected the activists’ relatives. Hichem Naouar said his nine-year-old grandson, Yassar, had begun waking up screaming, sleeping beside his mother and performing worse at school.

When asked by his mother whether he believed his father was a thief, Yassar replied, “Never.” Naouar’s four-year-old daughter, Sumud, has struggled to understand why her father is imprisoned. During a prison visit, she reportedly struck her head against a barrier while trying to embrace him.

Fourteen people detained after a September 19 protest calling for the activists’ release were also placed in pretrial detention, according to lawyer Rafed Rabbeh. One of them is 17 and was brought before a juvenile judge.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is described as an international campaign seeking to deliver aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory. The activists remain in custody while the financial investigation continues.