Thirty-seven groups, both Tunisian and international, expressed concern about the crackdown on the independence of the judiciary.
Human rights and civil society groups are calling for an end to attacks on the Tunisian judiciary.
Some 37 organizations — both Tunisian and international, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International — issued a statement on Monday expressing concern over the crackdown on the independence of the judiciary and the languishing of the right to a fair process in the country.
“The signatory associations warn against a dangerous instrumentalization of justice for all litigants, whose ultimate bulwark against arbitrariness remains an independent judiciary, the only guarantee of due process,” a joint statement said.
The groups called for the reinstatement of dismissed judges, an end to “interference by the executive in judicial matters”, and respect for the fundamental right to a fair trial by an “independent and impartial tribunal”.
President Kais Saied’s increasingly authoritarian shift since 2021 has included his dissolution of the Supreme Judicial Council (HJC) on February 6, 2022 – a constitutional body empowered to ensure the independence of the judiciary. He replaced it with a temporary council that appointed all 21 members.
In addition, 57 judges and prosecutors were dismissed on June 1 last year over allegations of financial and “moral” corruption and obstruction of investigations. New provisions introduced by Saied automatically brought criminal charges against them.
The judges and prosecutors challenged their dismissal last year at the Tunis Administrative Court – which ruled in favor of 49 – saying the actions taken against them were “a violation of the right to a fair trial”. But so far the government has refused to comply with that ruling.
The organizations also condemned Saied’s move in July 2021 to amend the constitution, centralizing power in his hands. That constitutional change led to the dissolution of the HJC, they said.
The groups highlighted the ongoing crackdown on dissidents in the country who criticized Saied, stating between this and the “arbitrary” dismissal of the judges: to fulfill”.
In February, Human Rights Watch released a report on the layoffs.
“These blows to the independence of the judiciary reflect the government’s determination to subjugate prosecutors and judges to the executive, at the expense of Tunisians’ right to a fair trial before independent and impartial judges,” said Salsabil Chellali, the Tunisian director of HRW at the time.