US slams Tunisian president Saied for dismissal of 57 judges
Washington, DC, US (PANA) - The US has slammed Tunisia's President Kais Saied for dismissing 57 judges and amending the rules governing the Provisional Supreme Judicial Council.
Mr. Ned Price, Spokesperson for the State Department, told a press briefing in Washington that they follow "an alarming pattern of steps that have undermined Tunisia’s independent democratic institutions".
Mr. Price said the US has consistently communicated to Tunisian officials the importance of checks and balances in a democratic system.
"We continue to urge the Tunisian Government to pursue an inclusive and transparent reform process with input from civil society and diverse political voices to strengthen the legitimacy of reform efforts," he said.
President Saied on Wednesday announced the dismissal of the judges accusing them of "obstructing the functioning of justice".
Among the dismissed magistrates are a former president of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, a former public prosecutor, the former senior investigating judge and a former director general of customs, according to the decree published on Wednesday.
During a meeting of the Council of Ministers, which he chaired earlier in the day, the head of state, who had granted himself full powers last July, listed a series of accusations against these judges, ranging from corruption, to illicit enrichment and sexual harassment.
Meanwhile the National Salvation Front, a coalition recently formed by five opposition parties and five civil society organisations to counter the "totalitarian orientation" of president Saied, said the decree "violates the principle of the separation of powers".
The coalition accused the president of wanting to demolish what remains of the democratic edifice.
"The interference of the President of the Republic in the functioning of the judiciary strips it of what remains of its presumed independence, after the dissolution of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary" said a statement from the Front led by the historic opposition stalwart, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi.
"The judiciary is thus transformed into a tool of repression, as is the case in all authoritarian regimes," the statement said.
-0- PANA MA 3June2022
