Rached Ghannouchi, the 85-year-old leader of Tunisia's Ennahda movement and a central figure of the country's post-revolutionary political landscape, is in critical condition after fainting in his prison cell during an intense heatwave, his lawyers confirmed on Thursday. He was transferred to Rabta hospital in Tunis, where he has reportedly been held for several days, though authorities have refused access to either his legal team or family members — a restriction his lawyers described as a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights as a prisoner.

The collapse was witnessed by Haifa Chebbi, daughter of imprisoned opposition politician Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, 81, who described the scene in an emotional live video posted to Facebook following a visit to Mornaguia prison on Tuesday. She reported that temperatures inside the facility reached 52 degrees Celsius (126°F), with detainees confined to cells of roughly 16 square metres for most of the day and permitted only two hours outside.