Jailed Tunisian TV producer transferred to hospital

A Tunisian television producer and owner of Ettounissiya television channel, who was accused of corruption under Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime, was transferred to a hospital on Thursday following a protracted hunger strike, Mosaique FM reported. Sami Fehri's transfer from the Mornaguia prison to a hospital in the capital Tunis was due to the rapid deterioration of his health on Thursday, the report said. Facing corruption charges for his association with Belhassen Trabelsi, brother-in-law of former president Ben Ali, Fehri has been imprisoned over the past three months, sparking heated debates across the country. Fehri is accused of misappropriation of public funds of his producing company, which he co-owned with Trabelsi. Last month, a Tunis cassation court lifted the accusation against the producer and handed over the case to a more competent chamber. A number of Tunisian politicians, artists and civil society personalities have called for Fehri's release from prison. Fehri's lawyers and many of his supporters argued that the continued imprisonment only reflected the Ennahdha-led government's determination to use Fehri as a "scapegoat." On Thursday, a spokesman of Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said the presidency was willing to "help find a solution to Fehri' s problem."