TUNIS — The family and lawyers of Rached Ghannouchi, the 85-year-old leader of the opposition Ennahda party, say they have been unable to see or contact him for 11 days since he was hospitalized after collapsing in prison, in a case that has become a flashpoint over the treatment of jailed government critics.

Moadh Ghannouchi, his son, said the last time lawyers saw his father was days before he temporarily lost consciousness on July 17, and that every request to visit him in hospital has since been refused, according to Al Jazeera. Members of his defense team have gone further, describing the situation as an enforced disappearance under international law, Barlaman Today reported.

The authorities had not publicly responded to the family's account at the time the reports were published.

Why this case matters

Mr. Ghannouchi, a former speaker of the dissolved parliament, has been imprisoned since 2023 on charges his supporters call politically motivated. His case sits at the center of a broader confrontation between President Kais Saied's government and the opposition since the president suspended parliament in July 2021 — a confrontation that has seen dozens of politicians, lawyers and journalists prosecuted.

The dispute over access is not procedural detail. Under Tunisian law and international standards alike, a detainee's right to counsel and to family contact is a basic safeguard; rights organizations have long argued that incommunicado detention places prisoners at risk and removes any independent check on their condition — a concern that grows more acute when the detainee is 85 and was hospitalized unconscious.

What could resolve it

The remedies being demanded are specific and modest: rights advocates and the defense team are calling for immediate lawyer and family access, independent medical information about his condition, and adherence to the UN's minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, which require notification and access when a detainee is hospitalized. International bodies, including UN special procedures, have in past Tunisian cases pressed for exactly these steps.

Whether the authorities respond — with access, information, or continued silence — will be read by Tunisians and foreign chanceries alike as a signal of how far the state is willing to let the rule of law bend.