TUNISIAN PRESIDENT KAIS SAIED DISSOLVES TOP JUDICIAL WATCHDOG

Sun 06 February 2022:

Tunisian President Kais Saied has dissolved a judicial council that deals with the independence of judges.

Last July, Saied, who had dissolved the government and suspended parliament, declared the Supreme Judicial Council was a “thing of the past” on Sunday.

He also accused members of the council of collecting “billions” in bribes and delaying politically sensitive probes, including as the assassinations of left-wing activists in 2013.

His decision raises concerns about the judiciary’s independence and comes after months of harsh criticism of Tunisia’s justices.

Last month, he revoked all financial privileges for members of the top judicial council, which was formed in 2016 and tasked with ensuring the independence of the judiciary, disciplining judges and granting them professional promotions.

“In this council, positions and appointments are sold according to loyalties. Their place is not the place where they sit now, but where the accused stand,” Saied said in a speech in the interior ministry.

“You cannot imagine the money that certain judges have been able to receive, billions and billions,” he added.

The council’s dissolution comes on the ninth anniversary of the assassination of secular politician Chokri Belaid, with parties and organizations, including the powerful UGTT union, preparing to hold demonstrations later in the day to pressure the judiciary to hold those involved in terrorism accountable.

It is expected that Saied’s supporters also will protest in a second demonstration against the Supreme Judicial Council.

“I tell Tunisians to demonstrate freely. It is your right and our right to dissolve the Supreme Judicial Council,” Saied said.

Saied’s approval of Sunday’s demonstrations comes even though a government decision to ban all demonstrations remains in effect.

Last month, police used water cannons and batons to disperse an opposition protest against Saied, whose declaration of plans to rewrite the constitution and seizure of broad powers have cast doubt on Tunisia’s decade-old democratic system and hampered the country’s quest for an international bailout plan for its public finances.

Before writing a new constitution that will be submitted to a referendum, the president has launched an online public survey.

He has not enlisted the participation of important political or civil society figures in the process.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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