Tunisian President Kais Saied has stated that the country’s detractors must be accountable to the state and its institutions and that working abroad does not make them immune from Tunisian justice.
After holding a meeting at the Carthage Palace with the Minister of Justice Leila Jaffal, the Tunisian president stressed that Tunisian citizens residing in other countries «must not be left out of criminal prosecution», according to a statement issued by the Tunisian Presidency.
To this end, Saied reaffirmed his «firm determination» to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and to open «all files without exception», referring to the multitude of processes that suffer years of delay and among which are cases where judicial files disappear.
In this regard, the Tunisian Head of State called on the Public Prosecutor’s Office to file ex officio complaints «every time it learns of an act that is criminalized by law» and for which it does not need any decision to do its part.
Last August 10, the Tunisian Administrative Court reinstated in their respective posts some 50 judges expelled by a decree of the president, whom his detractors accused of abusing his authority to try to control the judicial system at all costs.
The president accused in June about 60 judges of being involved in corruption cases and even of giving protection to terror suspects, as part of measures taken since he dissolved the government in July 2021 and suspended the parliament to arrogate to himself all powers.
The Tunisian president, who had previously replaced the Supreme Judicial Council, has promised that elections will be held in December of this year, with the new Constitution endorsed in July in a referendum marked by widespread abstention.
