Noureddine Bhiri, a strong man of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, was transferred to Bizerte hospital two days after his arrest, activists of this movement and deputies said on Sunday.
This former Tunisian Minister of Justice "
is in critical condition, he is in intensive care at Bougatfa hospital in Bizerte,
" lawyer and MP Samir Dilou, who resigned from Ennahdha, told AFP.
"
Citizens against the coup
", an organization opposed to President Kais Saied, said on its Twitter account that Mr. Bhiri, "
hospitalized in emergency, is in a very serious condition
".
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He was hospitalized "
after the worsening of his state of health following his arrest and his detention for 48 hours
", explained on his Twitter account the deputy of the party and former secretary of state, Saida Ounissi. She also denounced the fact that Mr. Bhiri was detained "
in an undisclosed place, without any arrest warrant, indictment or judicial authorization
".
According to several media and indications from sources informed to AFP, Noureddine Bhiri suffers from several chronic diseases, in particular hypertension, and had stopped eating and taking his medication since his arrest. The Torture Prevention Authority (INPT, independent Tunisian authority) and the Ennahdha party expressed concern on Saturday about the fate of him and another Ennahdha leader, Fathi Baldi, arrested at the same time as him Friday morning.
The INPT and the defense committee of Noureddine Bhiri formed in particular by his lawyer wife and other jurists denounced the secrecy around the place of their detention and the absence of explanations from the Ministry of the Interior which ordered the two arrests.
The ministry was confined Friday evening to announce two house orders, without giving names, noting a "
preventive measure dictated by the need to preserve national security
".
On Friday, the defense committee of Mr. Bhiri had qualified his arrest in front of his home by plainclothes agents of "
kidnapping and (of) dangerous precedent marking the entry of the country in the tunnel of the dictatorship
".
Ennahdha has been at the heart of a standoff with President Kais Saied since his July 25 coup and his decision to suspend the parliament that this party had controlled for ten years.