AA / Tunisia / Adel Thebti
Tunisian President Kais Saied said on Thursday that “those who attack the state and its institutions must be prosecuted.”
This is what emerges from the meeting he had with the Minister of Justice, Leila Jaffel, at the Carthage Palace in the capital, Tunis, to review “a number of issues relating to the exercise of justice”, according to a press release from the presidency.
“The President of the Republic underlined, once again, his unwavering commitment to guaranteeing the independence of justice and to the processing of all cases without exception or delay”, adds the press release:
And to continue: “(Kais Saied) stressed that those responsible for attacks on the state and its institutions (he did not name them) must not escape criminal prosecution, and that their allegiance of these agents to the foreigner grants them no immunity.”
The press release also quotes Saïed, adding: “The procedures before the courts have been designed to guarantee the rights of litigants, and have not been designed for the benefit of this or that party, especially since many cases have been heard there. years ago and no decision has been made.”
The Tunisian president underlined that “the Public Prosecutor’s Office does not need any decision to exercise its role, since it has the prerogative to take up any case, as soon as it becomes aware of an act criminalized by law” .
Saïed’s statements come in a context marked by a wave of nocturnal protests in Tunisia, in particular against the high cost of living and against the way the security authorities treat the demonstrators, while the protests of the inhabitants of Zarzis (southern east) against “the state’s lack of prompt response to the drowning of 18 city youths during an attempted irregular migration.”
Last June, Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed issued a presidential decree relieving 57 judges of their duties, accusing them in particular of “hijacking the course of business”, “disrupting investigations” in cases of terrorism and “financial corruption”. and breaches of ethics”, but the Tunisian Administrative Court decided in August to suspend the execution of the dismissal decision against most of the exempted judges.
Tunisia has been going through a serious political crisis since July 25, 2021, when Saïed undertook to impose emergency measures, including the dismissal of the government and the appointment of a new executive, the dissolution of the Superior Council of the Judiciary and Parliament, the promulgation of laws by decree, the adoption of a new Constitution by referendum on 25th July last and the holding of early legislative elections on 17th December.
*Translated from Arabic by Mourad Belhaj
.