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TUNIS (Reuters) - The family of a jailed Tunisian journalist and government critic has begun a hunger strike to press for his release from prison due to his failing health, his wife said on Thursday.

A court gave Taoufik Ben Brik a six-month prison sentence in November after finding him guilty of assaulting a woman.

International press freedom groups say the charges were concocted to punish him for criticising Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, a claim officials have denied.

Ben Brik's family visited him at Seliana prison northwest of the capital Tunis on Wednesday and said they were shocked by a sharp deterioration in his health.

"Taoufik's health is very bad. He is in a lot of pain... The only weapons we have left are our bodies," Azza Zarrad, Ben Brik's wife, told Reuters.

She said she and his five brothers and two sisters would not eat until her husband is freed.

"We have chosen to die or to live an honourable life," she added.

Ben Brik suffers from diabetes, chronic diarrhoea and Cushing's Syndrome, a hormonal disorder, according to Amnesty International.

Government officials were not immediately available for comment. The authorities have repeatedly denied that Ben Brik was jailed for political motives, saying he was guilty of a violent assault and that no one was above the law.