Tunisian court halts president’s purge of judges

A Tunisian court has halted President Kais Saied’s dismissal of around 50 judges, underscoring the continued independence of courts despite Saied’s moves to assume wider authority over the judiciary.
Saied dismissed 57 judges on June 1, accusing them of corruption and protecting terrorists – charges that the Tunisian Judges’ Association said were mostly politically motivated.
The lawyer, Kamel Ben Massoud, told Reuters that the Tunis administrative court had rejected the appeals of at least seven judges but blocked the dismissal of the others, pending a final ruling by a higher court.
Saied last month pushed through a new constitution through a referendum giving himself nearly unchecked powers, which his critics say will spawn one-man rule and the end of meaningful democracy.
The constitution has given him ultimate authority over both the government and judicial appointments, while making the parliament largely toothless.