Detained Tunisian flotilla activists: Worsening health amid family anguish

As activists’ health deteriorates, families describe the toll of separation, hunger strikes and uncertainty.

Demonstrators parade photos of four detained Sumud Flotilla members in Tunis [File: Mohamed Messara/EPA]

Tunis, Tunisia – For nine-year-old Yassar Naouar, visiting his father in prison has become an exercise in staying strong. He tries not to cry in front of Wael, fearing that seeing his son in tears would make an already painful situation harder for him. After leaving the prison, Yassar finds a corner where he can finally let the tears fall.

Hichem Naouar, Yassar’s grandfather, says the boy has changed since his father was detained. He now sleeps beside his mother after waking up screaming at night and his results at school have worsened. When Yassar told his mother that other children kept asking whether his father was a thief, she asked him what he thought.

“Never,” the nine-year-old replied.

Wael’s youngest child, four-year-old Sumud, is too young to understand why her father is in prison. Hichem says he took her to visit him. When she saw her father behind the glass, she leaned forward to embrace him, only to hit her head against the barrier.

Hichem spoke to Al Jazeera on Wednesday outside the Tunis Court of Appeal, where he had gone to follow the latest challenge to Wael’s detention. He repeatedly choked up as he described what he had seen during his most recent visit.

Wael was sitting with his hand against his cheek, his father said, his elbow trembling and his gaze fixed in the distance. He was struggling to see clearly and to keep water down without vomiting. He was dizzy and had difficulty controlling his left leg. Wael later told Hichem that other prisoners had said he sometimes wakes during the night calling out his youngest daughter’s name.

For his father, however, Wael’s story is also about the kind of person he has been. He recalled an incident during the Sumud land convoy in Libya in May, when armed men tried to kidnap another participant. Wael intervened, pulled the man away and helped him escape before returning to the men and telling them they could take him instead.

During the first Sumud flotilla, a female fell into the sea and was close to drowning. Wael immediately jumped in and rescued her.

“Wael’s strength is in the strength of his ideas and in his commitment to his people. Whenever he heard about any injustice against workers or employees, you would always find him at the forefront,” Hichem said.

The case and its wider fallout

Wael, 41, began a hunger strike on August 16 to protest his continued detention and was transferred to hospital as his condition deteriorated. He suspended his strike after 38 days following appeals from his lawyers and supporters, saying the decision did not mean abandoning his demands.

Four activists, Wael Naouar, Ghassan Henchiri, Ghassan Boughdiri and Nabil Channoufi, have been held since March following an investigation by Tunisia’s Economic and Financial Judicial Pole, a specialised body that handles financial and economic crimes. The investigation concerns alleged financial irregularities linked to fundraising for the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international campaign seeking to deliver aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory.

The state-owned TAP news agency, citing judicial sources, reported that investigators are examining the origin and use of funds collected for the flotilla and whether any were diverted for other purposes. The activists and their defence team have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and maintain their innocence. None of the four has been convicted.

For their lawyers, the issue is also why the men should remain in prison while the investigation continues.

Ghassan Ghribi, a member of the defence committee, described the latest extension of their pretrial detention as an “exception to the exception”, arguing that freedom should be the rule and detention the exception. The four-month extension was ordered on September 11 and the defence challenged the decision before the Court of Appeal in Tunis.

“The investigating judge spent six months on the case without carrying out any investigative work, other than questioning the activists,” Ghribi told Al Jazeera. He said the extension should be based on clear reasons and that the four men were being made to pay the price for what he described as a lack of investigative work.

The Court of Appeal rejected the challenge on Wednesday, leaving the quartet in pretrial detention for another four months while the investigation continues. Henchiri, Boughdiri and Channoufi remain on hunger strike.

Authorities have presented the case as a financial investigation into the handling of funds raised for the flotilla, rather than a prosecution linked to the men’s political or pro-Palestinian activities. The government has rejected accusations that the judiciary is being used to silence opponents, saying the judiciary is independent and that legal proceedings are conducted according to the law.

The fallout has also widened beyond the four men. Fourteen people detained after the September 19 protest calling for their release have since been placed in pretrial detention, lawyer Rafed Rabbeh confirmed to Al Jazeera on Friday. Among them is a 17-year-old who was brought before a juvenile judge. Tunisia’s Child Protection Code says priority should be given to preventive and educational measures and that pretrial detention should be avoided as much as possible for children.

Rabbeh said the detainees face several charges, including participating in a gathering allegedly intended to disturb public order and commit an offence, publicly attributing unlawful acts to a public official without proof, and making public statements deemed to damage the reputation of a person or official body. The charges are based on several provisions of Tunisia’s Penal Code.

The toll on those left behind

Speaking by phone from Gafsa, Ghassan Henchiri’s father, Sebti, said his son remains conscious but is visibly exhausted after being on hunger strike since September 9.

“According to what his sister told me after visiting him, he is still holding up. The fatigue is visible. He is exhausted, but he is still conscious,” Sebti said.

Ghassan has not been taken outside the prison for further medical examination of a head injury sustained during his detention in Israel, Sebti told Al Jazeera. Ghassan and his family have raised the issue with both the prison administration and investigating judge. They were promised that he would receive the necessary medical examinations, but that has not happened, Sebti said.

“It could be a superficial injury, but with the conditions in prison and the high temperatures, it has exhausted him,” he said.

Ghassan also has other health problems, including living with one kidney and suffering from back problems, Sebti said. He has developed a skin rash that keeps him from sleeping, but his request to see a dermatologist was rejected because the prison doctor did not consider it serious, Sebti said.

“I will remain steadfast, I will not give up my right and these malicious accusations are false,” Ghassan told his father.

“He is my son, my brother, my companion, my whole life,” Sebti said. “Ghassan is a man of integrity. I am not saying that because I am his father. Everyone knows that about him.”

Ghassan’s detention has also reshaped family life. He had been working at a high school and was recently engaged, Sebti said.

He described Ghassan’s political commitment as something rooted in the family. He has been involved in student activism and later trade unions since 1978, campaigning for freedom, the right to organise and a better, more dignified life for Tunisians. Ghassan grew up with those principles and was influenced by his father’s activism.

“This is what Ghassan was raised on and what influenced him,” Sebti said.

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

For the Naouar and Henchiri families, the impact of the detentions is being felt at home, in prison visits, anxious phone calls and children asking when their fathers will return.

Yassar still asks about his father and has told his grandfather he is ready to go on hunger strike too.

Asked where her father is, four-year-old Sumud answers: “Palestine. Prison”.

随着活动人士健康状况的恶化，他们的家人描述了分离、绝食和不确定性带来的痛苦。

示威者在突尼斯展示四名被拘留的苏穆德船队成员的照片 [图片：Mohamed Messara/EPA]

突尼斯，突尼斯——对于九岁的亚萨尔·纳瓦尔来说，探望狱中的父亲成了一次坚强的考验。他努力不在父亲瓦埃勒面前哭泣，生怕看到儿子落泪会让父亲本已痛苦的处境雪上加霜。离开监狱后，亚萨尔终于找到一个角落，任由泪水夺眶而出。

亚萨尔的祖父希切姆·纳瓦尔说，自从他父亲被拘留后，儿子就变了。他现在晚上会尖叫着醒来，然后就只能睡在母亲身边，而且学习成绩也下降了。亚萨尔告诉母亲，其他孩子总是问他父亲是不是小偷，母亲问他自己是怎么想的。

“绝不，”九岁的孩子回答道。

瓦埃尔最小的孩子，四岁的苏穆德，年纪太小，还不明白父亲为什么在监狱里。希沙姆说他带她去探望父亲。当她隔着玻璃看到父亲时，她俯身想拥抱他，结果头撞到了玻璃上。

周三，希沙姆在突尼斯上诉法院外接受了半岛电视台的采访。他此前前往法院，关注瓦埃勒被拘留案的最新进展。在描述他最近一次探访期间的所见所闻时，他数度哽咽。

瓦埃尔的父亲说，他当时一手捂着脸颊坐着，胳膊肘微微颤抖，目光呆滞地望着远方。他努力看清东西，喝水也总是吐。他感到头晕目眩，左腿也难以控制。瓦埃尔后来告诉希切姆，其他囚犯说他有时会在夜里醒来，呼唤他最小的女儿的名字。

然而，对于他的父亲来说，瓦埃勒的故事也关乎他的人格。他回忆起五月份在利比亚苏穆德陆路车队行进期间发生的一件事：一群武装分子试图绑架另一名参与者。瓦埃勒挺身而出，将那名男子拉开并帮助他逃脱，然后返回到那些武装分子面前，告诉他们可以把他带走。

在第一次苏穆德船队航行期间，一名女子落入海中，险些溺水。瓦埃尔立即跳入海中，将她救起。

“瓦埃尔的优势在于他强大的思想力量和他对人民的忠诚。每当他听到任何针对工人或雇员的不公正待遇时，你总能看到他冲在最前线，”希切姆说道。

案件及其更广泛的影响

41岁的瓦埃勒于8月16日开始绝食抗议，以示对持续拘留的不满。由于病情恶化，他被送往医院。在律师和支持者的呼吁下，他于38天后暂停了绝食，并表示这并不意味着他放弃了自己的诉求。

自今年3月以来，四名活动人士——瓦埃勒·纳瓦尔、加桑·亨奇里、加桑·布格迪里和纳比勒·沙努菲——一直被突尼斯经济和金融司法中心（一个专门处理金融和经济犯罪的机构）拘留。此次调查涉及他们涉嫌与“全球萨穆德船队”筹款活动相关的财务违规行为。“全球萨穆德船队”是一项旨在向加沙提供援助并挑战以色列对巴勒斯坦领土封锁的国际行动。

据国营的TAP通讯社援引司法消息人士报道，调查人员正在调查为船队筹集的资金来源和用途，以及是否有资金被挪作他用。活动人士及其辩护团队一再否认有任何不当行为，并坚称自己无罪。四人均未被定罪。

对于他们的律师来说，问题还在于，为什么在调查继续进行期间，这些人应该继续被关押在监狱里。

辩护委员会成员加桑·格里比将此次审前羁押期限的延长描述为“例外中的例外”，他认为自由应该是常态，而羁押应该是例外。此次为期四个月的延期于9月11日下令，辩方已就此决定向突尼斯上诉法院提起上诉。

格里比告诉半岛电视台：“负责调查此案的法官花了六个月时间，除了讯问活动人士之外，没有进行任何调查工作。” 他表示，延期审理应该有明确的理由，这四名男子正在为他所说的调查工作的缺失付出代价。

上诉法院周三驳回了上诉，四人将继续被审前拘留四个月，调查仍在进行中。亨奇里、布格迪里和查努菲仍在绝食抗议。

当局将此案定性为对船队筹款资金处理情况的财务调查，而非针对涉案人员的政治或亲巴勒斯坦活动提起诉讼。政府驳斥了司法机关被用来压制反对派的指控，称司法机关独立运作，所有法律程序均依法进行。

事件的影响范围已超出这四名男子。律师拉菲德·拉贝赫周五向半岛电视台证实，9月19日要求释放他们的抗议活动结束后，已有14人被拘留，目前已被羁押候审。其中包括一名17岁的少年，他已被带到少年法官面前。突尼斯《儿童保护法》规定，应优先采取预防和教育措施，并尽可能避免对儿童进行审前羁押。

拉贝赫表示，被拘留者面临多项指控，包括参与据称旨在扰乱公共秩序和犯罪的集会、在没有证据的情况下公开指控公职人员有违法行为，以及发表被认为损害个人或官方机构声誉的公开言论。这些指控依据突尼斯刑法典的多项条款。

对留下来的人来说，这无疑是沉重的打击。

加桑·亨奇里的父亲塞布蒂在加夫萨通过电话表示，他的儿子仍然清醒，但自从 9 月 9 日开始绝食以来，已经明显精疲力竭。

“据他姐姐探望后告诉我，他目前情况还算稳定。虽然疲惫不堪，但仍然保持清醒，”塞布蒂说道。

塞布蒂告诉半岛电视台，加桑在以色列被拘留期间头部受伤，至今仍未被带出监狱接受进一步的医学检查。加桑及其家人已就此事向监狱管理部门和负责调查的法官提出申诉。塞布蒂说，他们曾被告知加桑将接受必要的医学检查，但至今仍未兑现。

“这可能只是皮外伤，但监狱里的环境和高温天气让他精疲力竭，”他说。

塞布蒂说，加桑还有其他健康问题，包括只有一个肾脏和背部疼痛。他身上长了皮疹，让他无法入睡，但他去看皮肤科医生的请求被拒绝了，因为监狱医生认为病情不严重。

“我将立场坚定，绝不放弃我的权利，这些恶意的指控都是虚假的，”加桑告诉他的父亲。

“他是我的儿子，我的兄弟，我的伴侣，我的一切，”塞布蒂说。“加桑是个正直的人。我这么说不是因为我是他的父亲。每个人都知道他这一点。”

加桑的拘留也改变了他的家庭生活。塞布蒂说，他之前在一所高中工作，最近刚订婚。

他认为加桑的政治抱负源于家庭背景。自1978年以来，他一直积极参与学生运动，后来又加入工会，为突尼斯人民争取自由、组织权和更美好、更有尊严的生活。加桑从小就秉持这些原则，并深受父亲的社会活动的影响。

“这就是加桑从小接受的教育，也是影响他的东西，”塞布蒂说。

人权观察组织还对突尼斯利用金融和洗钱调查来对付民间社会人士表示关切。

对于纳瓦尔和亨奇里两家人来说，拘留的影响正在家庭中显现，监狱探视、焦虑的电话以及孩子们询问父亲何时归来都让他们感到痛苦。

亚萨尔仍然在询问他父亲的情况，并且告诉他的祖父，他也准备绝食抗议。

当被问及父亲在哪里时，四岁的苏穆德回答说：“巴勒斯坦。监狱。”