Tunisia opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi 'on hunger strike': report

Detained Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi is reportedly on hunger strike.

Ghannouchi, 81, started the action on Tuesday after authorities moved him to a National Guard barracks from prison to be interrogated by an anti-terror squad in connection with a new case, sources told news website Arabi 21.

The chief of the Islamist party Ennahda was detained on 18 April and moved to the barracks in El Aouina on Monday morning, The New Arab's Arabic sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported, citing lawyer Saber Al-Obeidi.

While Ghannouchi remains at liberty with this case, he remains detained over previous comments he allegedly made at a National Salvation Front opposition coalition meeting.

"Tunisia without Ennahda, without political Islam, without the left, or any other component, is a project for civil war," it is claimed he said.

The politician's adviser, lawyer Sami Al-Tariqi, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed Ghannouchi had previously appeared before anti-terror authorities in El-Aouina after a security officer's "flimsy complaint".

The office had alleged Ghannouchi attended a meeting with people convicted in terrorism cases, Al-Tiriqi said.

The lawyer added: "This person stated that he had a video, and when asked for it, he claimed that it was lost."

Despite Ghannouchi's meeting with security services on Monday, the complainant "didn't provide any evidence", maintaining that the video was lost.

The lawyer said parts of the Ennahda chief's statements at the National Salvation Front meeting were cut off and others deleted but the full video is available on the coalition's page.

Ghannouchi is "steadfast and in high spirits", according to Al-Tariqi.

The Ennahda leader's daughter Soumaya Ghannouchi on Tuesday said her father was "boycotting future interrogation sessions" in protest of "orchestrated political trials" and "endless interrogations" meant to "exhaust him physically & mentally".

"He's already attended over 120 hrs of interrogations on fake charges. Let them act in their pathetic plays alone!" she tweeted.