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Tunisian judges stage week-long strike over mass firings, president's 'interference'

A file photo by Reuters shows an empty Tunisian courtroom during a strike by judges, in Tunis.

Tunisian judges have launched a week-long nationwide strike in protest at President Kais Saied's "interference" in the judicial affairs after he sacked nearly 60 of their colleagues.

Mourad Massoudi, head of the Young Judges' Union, said on Monday that "the strike started today at all courts across the country, and appears to have been widely observed." Courts will stay open for terrorism cases, he added.

Last week, the president dismissed 57 judges, accusing them of corruption and protecting terrorists in a purge of the judiciary. In a televised address, the president said he had “given opportunity after opportunity and warning after warning to the judiciary to purify itself."

On Saturday, four judges' unions announced a nationwide court strike, strongly condemning the president's "continued interference in the judiciary."

The Tunisian Judges Association also recently called President Saied's controversial decision to sack dozens of judges a "massacre" amid growing fears about the independence of the judiciary in the North African county. The association said that the move aimed to allow the president to influence the judiciary and create vacancies to appoint his loyalists. 

The president has been accused of laying off judges "without the slightest recourse to disciplinary procedures" in an affront to the constitution.

Saied's purge of the judiciary has already sparked international outrage, accusing him of undermining Tunisia's democratic institutions.

Saied's power grab on July 25, 2021 was welcomed by many Tunisians tired of a frequently deadlocked post-revolutionary democracy.

But his opponents, including the Ennahda party, which has dominated the country's post-revolution politics, have warned of a return to autocracy.

The 2014 constitution was the result of intense negotiations among political parties and civil society bodies, but Saied has rejected calls for a similar inclusive dialog, saying those who opposed his measures should be banned from discussion on Tunisia’s future.

Tunisia has been gripped by a political crisis since the president dismissed former prime minister, Hichem Mechichi, and suspended parliament for 30 days in July 2021. The Tunisian president said at the time that his decision was meant to “save Tunisia, the state, and the Tunisian people,” in the midst of growing public anger and protests against the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

His opponents have slammed the move as a “coup,” while rights groups have warned that the country could be sliding back into autocracy.


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