The health of journalist Chadha Belhaj Mbarek has reached a critical stage, which now places the Tunisian authorities directly and fully responsible.

What yesterday was considered negligence, harsh prison conditions, and institutional indifference is now tantamount to deliberately endangering the life of a prisoner in flagrant violation of the most basic obligations of the State.

This situation is neither an accident nor an isolated incident. It is part of a pattern of repeated violations by the regime, marked by tragic precedents in which medical negligence in detention has led to fatal outcomes. The fate of the victims of this policy of dehumanization has become recurrent, and it is precisely the persistent impunity enjoyed by those responsible that explains why these practices continue and are getting worse.

Detained since July 20, 2023, Chadha Belhaj Mbarek has been subjected to a series of serious and repeated abuses in prison:

– physical assault by a fellow inmate,

– lack of immediate medical care,

– denial of effective access to healthcare,

– Unjustifiable delays in clinical examinations and diagnoses.

Despite the obvious seriousness of her condition and repeated warnings, the prison administration deliberately chose to take no action, forcing the journalist to resort to hunger strikes to demand her fundamental right to be examined by a doctor.

It was only after months of suffering and continuous deterioration of his condition that medical tests finally revealed the presence of malignant cancer in his abdomen, followed by the discovery of a second cancer in his chest.

This double late diagnosis is a direct consequence, documented and attributable to the deliberate failure of medical care in prisons.

Today, Chadha Belhaj Mbarek's health condition is extremely serious. He requires urgent and immediate surgery. However, to date, no clear medical schedule has been set, no intervention protocol guaranteed, turning the wait into additional suffering and detention into a slow death sentence.

Faced with this dramatic situation, Chadha Belhaj Mbarek's mother and her entire family have launched a desperate public appeal to save her life. Let's be clear:

The continued detention of Chadha Belhaj Mbarek under these conditions constitutes a form of inhuman and degrading treatment, tantamount to torture by deprivation of care, which is prohibited by Tunisian law and by all international conventions ratified by Tunisia.

We clearly state that any deterioration in Chadha Belhaj Mbarek's health, any medical complications, and, even more so, any fatal outcome, will be the direct legal, political, and moral responsibility of the Tunisian state, the prison administration, and the health authorities.

In light of this extremely urgent situation, we demand:

• The immediate and unconditional release of Chadha Belhaj Mbarek due to the seriousness of his health condition and his transfer out of prison.
• The immediate implementation of a comprehensive medical protocol, including the necessary surgical procedures under conditions that guarantee the dignity, safety, and survival of the patient.
• The opening of an independent, serious, and exhaustive investigation into the violence she suffered as a result of all acts of omission and medical negligence while in detention, as well as into all suspicious deaths that occurred in prison due to the negligence of the authorities.
• The release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and the immediate end to prison policies that turn detention into an instrument of reprisal and slow death.
• The guarantee that no authority can hide behind administrative or procedural pretexts to justify inaction in the face of a life-threatening emergency.

Silence, waiting, and pretense are no longer options: they would constitute blatant complicity.

Chadha Belhaj Mbarek's life is in danger here and now.

Saving her is a legal, moral, and political obligation.

Inaction would no longer be considered a fault: it would constitute a crime and a criminal offense.