Three leaders of Tunisia’s once-dominant Ennahdha party have begun a hunger strike to protest their detention under a crackdown against opponents of President Kais Saied, the party, and a detainee’s wife said Monday. 

One of them, Sahbi Atig a 64-year-old former leader of Ennahdha’s parliamentary bloc, has been on a hunger strike for 32 days, leading to a severe deterioration in his health, his wife Zeineb Mraihi said after visiting him in prison.

‘He lost 17 kilograms (37 pounds), his heart rhythm is weak and he can hardly speak,’ Mraihi said.