Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap have joined climate activist Greta Thunberg, anti-apartheid leader Chief Mandla Mandela and a raft of international figures in an open letter demanding Tunisia immediately free four Global Sumud Flotilla organisers, after hunger striking steering committee member Wael Naouar was rushed to hospital.
The West Belfast group, who headlined Wide Awake in 2025 and Boomtown in 2026, are among the lead signatories of “FREE THE SUMUD 4”. The letter landed as Tunisian authorities imposed a complete information blackout, refusing to tell Naouar’s family or legal team anything about his medical state or the circumstances of his emergency transfer from Mornaguia Prison.
Naouar has been refusing food since 16 August, nearly 40 days, in protest at prolonged detention without trial. The Global Sumud Flotilla says Tunisian authorities will not disclose his condition, and that the silence raises serious concerns for his safety.
Fellow organisers Nabil Channoufi, Ghassan El Henchiri and Ghassan El Boughdiri joined the hunger strike on 10 September, just before a Tunisian court extended their pretrial detention by four months. All four men, known as the Sumud 4, have been held for more than six months for helping coordinate a peaceful civilian aid mission to Gaza. The flotilla says they were detained despite a complete absence of credible evidence.
“A man has been on hunger strike for more than a month in a Tunisian prison because he refuses to accept that solidarity with Palestine is a crime. His heart could stop at any moment,” the signatories write. “Tunisia has long stood with the Palestinian people and resisted colonialism. We ask its government to remember that history, and to act before another prisoner pays with his life.”
Alongside Kneecap, Thunberg and Chief Nkosi Zwelivelile “Mandla” Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela and Chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council, the letter is backed by Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham, lawyer and commentator Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, and Malaysian actress Tiz Zaqyah Razak. “We know the power of a voice, a name, a stage, an audience,” they add. “From Palestine to Tunisia, from the prison cell to the street, people should not be prosecuted for refusing to accept injustice.”
The letter sets out four demands: the immediate and unconditional release of the Sumud 4; urgent medical care for Naouar and all hunger striking organisers; the dismissal of all charges against Global Sumud Flotilla organisers; and the removal of arbitrary restrictions on those already released.
“Wael Naouar’s life and health are the direct responsibility of the authorities holding him in custody,” the flotilla said. “This worrying silence and the total refusal to provide information to his family or legal team raise serious concerns for his safety. We hold the President of the Republic, the General Directorate of Prisons and Rehabilitation, and the Ministry of Justice fully responsible for his life and for any harm that may befall him.” The group says civil society movements, human rights defenders and cultural leaders will not sit by while civilian organisers face political imprisonment for coordinating peaceful efforts to challenge Israel’s siege on Gaza.
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