Tunisia: Ghannouchi's deputy Bhiri moved from prison to hospital

Ennahda movement’s Vice President Noureddine Bhiri has been transferred from prison to the hospital following the deterioration of his health, his wife said yesterday.

Commenting on the situation Ennahda added that “his condition is very critical”.

“Noureddine Bhiri complained of chest pains and a drop in blood, which made the prison administration transfer him to the recovery department at the association hospital in the capital,” Saida El-Akrami said in a statement regarding her husband’s situation.

She added that he had embarked on a hunger strike since 13 February, noting that she was “not allowed to see her husband in hospital on Saturday evening, but she noticed a striking security presence in the vicinity of the resuscitation department.”

There was no immediate statement from the Tunisian authorities regarding Bhiri, who was ordered to be detained on 15 February on charges of “conspiring against state security”.

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