The head of the Association of Tunisian Judges, Anas Al-Hammadi, stressed that all judicial structures are unified and that the authority has not succeeded in breaking its unity, while political forces condemned the authorities' continued pursuit of opponents before military courts.

Al-Hammadi said - during the plenary session of the Tunisian judges to take decisions on their movements in the coming period - that the judges are united in confronting attempts to infiltrate and infringe on the independence of the judiciary.

He added that the rate of suspension of work in the courts in the second week of the judges' strike amounted to 95%, in protest against President Qais Saeed's decision to dismiss 75 judges.

Al Hammadi pointed out that the judges had previously expressed the injustice and injustice to which they are subjected, and the exacerbation of abuse and corruption, noting that the Judges Association requested an urgent meeting with the president to discuss raising the judges' grievance, but it did not receive a response to the request.

By a decision of the (Independent) Association of Judges, judges in Tunisia have been on strike since June 6 to protest the dismissal of 57 judges.

At the beginning of this month, President Qais Saeed issued a presidential order dismissing 57 judges from their duties, on charges including changing the course of cases and obstructing investigations into terrorism files and committing financial and moral corruption, which the judges deny.

This decree was rejected by Tunisian unions and parties and sharp international criticism, especially from the United States of America and Amnesty International.


pursuit of opponents

In a related context, the National Salvation Front in Tunisia denounced the ruling issued by the Military Court of Appeal against lawyer Seif El-Din Makhlouf, head of the Karama coalition bloc in the dissolved parliament.

Yesterday, Friday, the Military Court of Appeals sentenced Seif El-Din Makhlouf to one year in prison and banned him from practicing the legal profession for five years, on charges of “insulting the military judiciary,” in what is known as the “Kulwar case.”

The Front confirmed - in a statement - that the ruling against Makhlouf is only a new step on the path to domesticating the wings of justice after the judges were relieved and lawyers tried before the military judiciary.

The Front was astonished by the silence of the National Lawyers Authority in front of what it called the infringement by the military judiciary of its competence by depriving a lawyer from practicing his profession for a period of five years, even though it is the only body competent to take such measures.

For its part, the Ennahda movement condemned what it described as physical or verbal violence against the leadership of the Tunisian General Labor Union and leaders of parties and fronts.

In a statement, the movement denounced what it considered an addiction by the authority to refer opponents to military courts with the aim of excluding them from political life, as the movement saw the imprisonment of the People's Deputy and the head of the Dignity Coalition Party, Seif El-Din Makhlouf, and depriving him of practicing law, targeting him and confiscating his legitimate rights.


New arrests

In a related context, Tunisian lawyer Samir Dilou said that the security authorities renewed the arrest of the former official spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, Muhammad Ali Al-Aroui, and the journalist Lotfi Al-Haiduri.

Delo explained that the decision to renew the arrest of Laroui and Haidori came under the pretext of completing the investigation into their relationship with what is known as the case file of the "Instalingo" company specialized in the manufacture of content and digital communication, which the Tunisian authorities accuse of money laundering and distorting political figures against the Ennahda movement.

Since July 25, 2021, Tunisia has been experiencing a severe political crisis, as Saied imposed exceptional measures, including dismissing the government and appointing others, dissolving Parliament and the Judicial Council, and issuing legislation by presidential decrees.

Saeed also decided to hold a referendum on a new constitution for the country on the 25th of next month, to submit the parliamentary elections to the 17th of next December, and to grant himself the right to appoint 3 of the seven members of the electoral commission, including its president.

Tunisian forces say that these measures represent a "coup against the constitution" and aim to consolidate executive, legislative and judicial powers in the hands of the president.

Other forces believe that these measures are aimed at "correcting the course of the 2011 revolution" that toppled then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.