Tunisia: Ongoing hunger strikes spotlights rights abuses in Tunisia

Worn down by years of harassment and with no remedy in sight, hunger strikes seem to have become the final recourse for journalists, political activists, government critics and human rights defenders, in order to draw attention to their legitimate demands to have their fundamental human rights respected. [...] Both inside and outside Tunisian prisons the hunger strikers’ demands range from the release of prisoners of conscience to obtaining passports and medical care for former political prisoners. [...] She had been on hunger strike to protest against what she considered to be a politically-motivated dismissal from her post in a development association, known to be close to the ruling party, Constitutional Democratic Rally, in the town of Ksar, south of Gafsa. [...] Ghezala Mohammedi said her dismissal from her post in 2008 was linked to her activities in support of the Gafsa protests and that her post was later filled with someone said to be close to the authorities in Gafsa. [...] Former political prisoner Abdellatif Bouhajila has also staged a hunger strike since 11 October at his home in a Tunis suburb to demand his right to have a passport in order to enable him to travel abroad to obtain urgent medical care.