Tunisian police close the offices of the highest judicial oversight body and close its doors to employees
Tunisian police on Monday denied access to the country’s largest judicial oversight body in a move its chief described as “illegal”, two days after President Kais Saied dissolved the body.
For its part, the United States said it was “extremely concerned” by Saeed’s actions.
Security forces cut off all roads leading to the headquarters of the Supreme Judicial Council in Tunis.
“We do not know who issued these orders, but we know that they have no legal basis,” CSM chief Yosef Bouzacher told AFP.
Said dissolved the assembly on Sunday, months after sacking the government and seizing sweeping powers in Tunisia, which is often lauded as the only democracy to emerge from the 2011 Arab uprisings.
On Monday, Washington said it was “deeply concerned” by the decision to dissolve the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“An independent judiciary is an essential component of an effective and transparent democracy,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“It is imperative that the Tunisian government fulfill its obligations to respect the independence of the judiciary as stipulated in the constitution.”
Saeed’s supporters say the July 25 power grab was necessary after a decade of misrule by corrupt political parties.
Saeed pledged, Monday, not to interfere in judicial cases or appointments.
“I will never interfere in the judiciary,” he said, adding that he took the National Security Council’s decision only “because it has become necessary, and because the Tunisian people want to cleanse the country.”
Speaking to Prime Minister Naglaa Boden in a video meeting posted on his Facebook page, he said the courts were the scene of a “farce”.
“Whoever thinks that the judiciary is a tool to achieve his personal or political goals, he must know that he will not be able to infiltrate the courts.”
But critics say Saeed has pushed the country down a dangerous path back toward authoritarianism.
Bozkhar said the closure of the National Security Council “proves that we have entered a phase in which the executive branch uses force to control all state institutions, including the judiciary.”
He warned of threats to “rights and freedoms,” saying that the Supreme Council for Social Freedoms would continue its work.
Said had said on Sunday that the CSM was corrupt and the latest politically sensitive investigations into the assassination of left-wing opposition figures Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi.
The CSM said it lacked the legal and constitutional authority to resolve it.
The body, which was established in 2016, consists of 45 judges, who are primarily appointed by Parliament, and has the power to appoint judges.
(AFP)
