The Bar Association called for a general strike on Friday, October 16 to protest against the abuse of power by the police. About sixty civil society NGOs denounce a “resumption of bygone practices from the time of the dictatorship”, after the summons of the president of the association of magistrates.
Justice is rocking in Tunisia. “The bar will not stand idly by in the face of attempts by some to have a negative influence on the independence of the judiciary,” the President of the Tunisian Bar Association, Ibrahim Bouderbala, got upset, targeting unions police, during a press conference at the lawyer’s house in Tunis on October 14.
The order called on lawyers for a general strike and to participate in a protest march from the courthouse to the government palace at the Kasbah in Tunis on Friday, October 16.
In Tunisia, tragic death in Sbeitla
At the origin of the bronca, the assault of a lawyer by a chief of the police station in El Mourouj in the governorate of Ben Arous, near Tunis, in August. While the scene of the assault was filmed by surveillance cameras, there was, according to the President of the Bar, a desire to destroy the evidence.
The policeman on bail
“The investigating judge, under pressure from the police, left the police officer on bail, this is not the first time that impunity has prevailed in the court of Ben Arous”, argues Messaoud Romdhani, director for Tunisia from the Cairo Institute for the Study of Human Rights (CIHRS).
On several occasions in the past, the police have not hesitated to intrude into the courtrooms. “A 2015 bill aims to strengthen the powers of the police, it has been postponed several times thanks to pressure from civil society which fears a return to a police state”, adds Messaoud Romdhani.
Create an observatory for violations of defence rights
Following the case of the attack, the Bar Association plans to file a complaint against the regional union of the internal security forces of Ben Arous for “abuse of power and endangering public safety”. And he intends to create an observatory for violations of the rights of the defence.
The magistrates themselves are in turmoil. Sixteen NGOs denounced, on October 14, the “numerous unusual procedural violations” in the investigation for sexual harassment opened by the Nabeul court against the deputy Zouheir Makhlouf. While, according to them, “solid evidence has been provided”, the investigation focused on protecting the suspect.
These practices, which are contrary to the principles of equality before the law, contribute, according to NGOs, to “undermining” the independence of the judiciary, “which leads citizens to lose confidence in the justice system”.
The president of the association of Tunisian magistrates, Anas Hamadi, himself denounced the lack of independence of magistrates and criticized the role of the Superior Council of the Magistracy (CSM) in appointments. “There is a real problem of transparency in the promotion criteria”, notes magistrate Kalthoum Kennou.
“A revival of bygone practices from the time of the dictatorship”
In retaliation against Anas Hamadi’s freedom of speech, the latter was subpoenaed by the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Justice on October 2, raising a huge wave of protest within civil society. About sixty NGOs and many personalities have given their support to Anas Hamadi, denouncing “a resumption of the bygone practices of the time of the dictatorship”, “a flagrant usurpation of the right of judges to assemble, express themselves and association ”.
In a statement dated October 13, they “condemn the action of the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Justice, as being a clear drift of its power” and they “warn against these serious deviations in the use of methods and control procedures ”. For Kalthoum Kennou, the general inspectorate has no right to supervise the associations.
“It is a way of silencing the magistrates”, she denounces, adding that “freedom of expression is one of the rare conquests of the revolution”.
