|
|
|
|
On February 13, President Kaïs Saïed issued a decree that formally dissolves the Supreme Judicial Council (CSM), replaces the CSM with a provisional body over which he will exert considerable control, and grants him other sweeping new powers over the judiciary.
- According to Decree 11, Saïed will be able to dismiss judges, block their promotion or nomination, and propose judicial reforms.
- The president will personally appoint nine of the members of the “temporary” CSM and influence the selection of the other 12. The body will be headed by First President of the Court of Cassation Moncef Kchaou, who Saïed swore in last November just as he was escalating his attacks on the CSM.
- Decree 11 also forbids judges from going on strike or engaging in “any other collective activity that is likely to hinder the smooth running of work in the courts.”
Despite the effort to crush any judicial opposition, judges are nevertheless leading the protests against the moves.
- Youssef Bouzakher, head of the dissolved CSM, said that the decree is unconstitutional and “ends guarantees of the independence of the judiciary.”
- Association of Tunisian Judges (AMT) President Anas Hmaidi called on the president to reverse his decision, noting that the CSM “was established under the 2014 constitution and cannot be abolished.” The AMT held a strike last week and Hmaidi hinted that judges might strike again, stating that “all alternatives are possible and likely.” He also expressed his fear of an imminent wave of firings of judges.
- The Tunisian Association of Young Judges described the original CSM as “the only legitimate institution that guarantees the proper functioning and independence of justice” and urged judges not to join its “lawless” replacement.
- Said Benarbia, the International Commission of Jurists' Middle East and North Africa program director, warned that Decree 11, if implemented, "would end any semblance of judicial independence and the separation of powers in the country, and would bring Tunisia back to its darkest days, when judges were transferred and dismissed at the whim of the executive."
- Ennahda and the Citizens Against the Coup initiative also organized protests opposing the move that drew thousands of demonstrators.
Ennahda’s concerns have grown in recent days with the news that the the Committee for the Defense of Chokri Belaïd and Mohamed Brahmi is stepping up its legal proceedings against the party.
- The committee, which seeks justice for the two assassinated opposition politicians, has long accused Ennahda of infiltrating the CSM and the rest of the judiciary to derail the investigations into their murders. Since the president announced his intention to dissolve the CSM, the committee has launched lawsuits against Ennahda President Rached Ghannouchi and judges that it alleges were “on his payroll.”
- After facing accusations of infiltrating the justice system for years, Ennahda now claims that the committee has done the same. “We have serious concerns about the current judicial system, and we fear that evidence will be fabricated against us in the case of the assassinations of the two martyrs Chokri Belaïd and Mohamed Brahmi,” added Abdelfattah Taghouti, an Ennahda communications officer.
- The party also revealed that it had sent a letter to Saïed, as well as the Ministries of Interior and Defense, to “make them bear the full legal responsibility” of protecting Ghannouchi and his family. They said that the defense committee’s speech “threatens the security of the party president, his family, and all those who are at his home and at Ennahdha's premises.” The committee held a rally on February 12 that made its way to Ghannouchi’s house before being stopped by police.
While the president’s efforts to reshape the judiciary in his own image are taking most of the headlines, the government is simultaneously pursuing changes to the NGO law that “would considerably restrict the legitimate activities of civil society and of human rights defenders,” warned the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OMCT) on February 11.
- Earlier this month, civil society leaders revealed that the government has been working to make changes to Tunisia’s celebrated 2011 NGO law that focus on "security."
- The OMCT said that the government’s draft of the amended law “appears to demonstrate a desire by the Tunisian authorities to provide themselves with legal tools to control and foreseeably muzzle civil society.”
- One alarming change would give authorities the ability to block the establishment of NGOs. Such a change is even more worrying given the new, overly broad prohibition of organizations that “threaten the unity of the State or its republican and democratic regime.”
- The OMCT also voiced concern over changes that would expand restrictions on NGO leaders holding public office, prohibit NGOs from undertaking activities that “fall within the competence of public bodies,” require that organizations obtain advance approval before receiving any foreign funding, and make it easier to dissolve organizations for alleged infractions.
|
|
On February 14, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price reiterated that the Biden administration is “concerned by Tunisian President [Kaïs] Saïed’s decree dissolving the Supreme Judicial Council.”
- Price had already stated the week before that United States was “deeply concerned” after Saïed revealed his plans to dissolve the body.
- On the same day, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for North Africa Karen Sasahara and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Christopher Le Mon met with Tunisian civil society representatives to discuss “recent political and judicial developments.” They shared afterward, “We stand with Tunisians calling for a democratic government that promotes human rights and prioritizes the country’s economic future.”
|
|
ON OUR RADAR
- February 11 - French Ambassador to Tunisia André Parant met with Minister of Interior Taoufik Charfeddine to discuss increased security and intelligence cooperation. (TAP)
- February 12 - European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell proposed halting the dispersal of macro-economic aid to Tunisia "according to how events develop." (ANSA)
- February 14 - Dozens of refugees held a sit-in in front of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees headquarters in Zarzis to protest poor conditions and to demand evacuation out of Tunisia. (France 24)
- February 14 - President Kaïs Saïed dismissed Chokri Cheniti, who was appointed as interim head of the Tunisian National Radio in September, and annulled all of his hiring decisions, including those Cheniti had made just hours earlier. (Business News)
- February 15 - Tunisia said that the World Bank will lend the country around $400 million to finance social reforms, one day after an International Monetary Fund delegation began its weeklong "virtual visit" to Tunisia to continue negotiations over a new loan package. (Reuters)
- February 15 - Attayar (Democratic Current), Ettakatol (Democratic Forum for Labor and Freedoms), and Al Joumhouri (Republican Party) filed a complaint against the president, prime minister, and three ministers for "mismanagement of public funds and abuse of power" over their shuttering of parliament, the National Anti-Corruption Authority (INLUCC), and the Bardo Museum. (TAP)
- February 15 - The defense committee for former Minister of Justice Noureddine Bhiri accused police officers of preventing his family members from visiting him in the hospital where he is being held. (Business News)
|
|
WANT MORE?
Subscribe to our other newsletters:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
