Tunisian Islamists proceed in hunger strike

     
After announcing that the almost 2 week protest had ended on Monday, at least 40 Tunisian Islamist prisoners remain on strike.                 

Ministry Official Fadhel Saihi said that only a few prisoners ended their strike and pointed out that the number is not set.                 

"Of 120 prisoners striking at the beginning, almost 80 stopped so around 40 others are left" he added.                   

Earlier, Saihi said that the hunger strike ended apart from one prisoner who had been taken to the hospital due to his condition.                 

Meanwhile, one inmate's lawyer denied the aforementioned details and said that the justice ministry only wanted to "mislead the public."                          

According to lawyers, up to 200 prisoners have refused to eat; most of them since mid-November when two fellow inmates died after refusing food for nearly two months                      

It is worth mentioning that around 220 Salafist Islamists have been arrested in 2011 and 2012 over numerous attacks, the Ministry official added.