Magistrate Kheira Benkhelifa denounced a “plot” fomented, according to her, by relatives of the Tunisian president
After the dismissal of 57 judges for “concealment of terrorist affairs”, “corruption”, “sexual harassment”, “collusion” with political parties, and “disruption of the functioning of justice” on June 1, the Tunisian president seems to assume a new drift by undermining the respect for the private life of a magistrate, Kheira Benkhelifa.
During an official meeting, Kais Saied mentioned the case of the judge, “caught in the act of committing a morality case”.
The magistrate, who is one of the 57 judges dismissed by the Head of State, explained to local media that in December 2020, she had welcomed in the evening, in the living room of her house, a man with whom she had a liaison, who fell ill and could not leave the judge’s home because of the curfew.
It was then that security forces entered the house, drawing up a report on the spot, accusing him of obstructing a search and of “moral offense”. She was even forced to undergo a virginity test.
The magistrate says she has been the victim of a virulent campaign on social networks since July 2021. “A plot fomented by Atika Chebil, sister-in-law of President Kais Saied because I objected to the fact that she [Atika Chebil] asks for an illegal legal act,” the judge said, referring to a business benefits case in the midst of the legal proceedings.
The campaign against magistrate Kheira Benkhelifa intensified after her dismissal. The famous virginity test was published on social networks, with intrusive notifications in the private life of the judge.
This last fact and the statements of the Tunisian president on this affair caused several NGOs to react, which condemned these procedures and demanded that Kais Saied apologizes to the magistrate.
The Tunisian Association for the Defense of Individual Liberties called on the Tunisian president to “avoid using private life to liquidate his adversaries”, adding that these “methods remind Tunisian society of the practices of the former regime of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali”.
“Who will rehabilitate this lady if the highest level of the state has touched on her dignity? exclaimed, for her part, the honorary president of the Association of Tunisian Judges, Rawda al-Qarafi.
Tunisian magistrates began a general strike on Monday, June 6 in protest against the decision to dismiss President Saied.
