Three Tunisian judges unions suspend strike started a month ago

Three Tunisian judges’ unions have decided to suspend a four-week-long strike started in protest at Tunisian President Kais Saied’s dismissal of 57 judges on June 1, they said on Sunday.

Saied had accused the judges of corruption and protecting terrorists, charges which the Tunisian Judges’ Association said were mostly politically motivated. Last month Judge Hammadi Rahmani said a meeting of judges voted unanimously to suspend work in all courts, and to start the sit-in.

Last summer, Saied seized executive power in a move his foes called a coup, before setting aside the 2014 constitution to rule by decree and dismissing the elected parliament.

Among the judges fired was Youssef Bouzaker, the former head of the Supreme Judicial Council whose members Saied replaced this year. The council had acted as the main guarantor of judicial independence since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution that introduced democracy.

In a session attended by hundreds of judges, some of the dismissed judges said the purge came after they rejected interventions from the justice minister and in some cases from people surrounding the president.

Source: Reuters

In other news – VIDEO: Makhadzi bangs her head on a speaker during her live performance on stage 

Venda Queen, Makhadzi has been injured after falling and smashing her head on a speaker during her live performance over the weekend.

Due to the fall on Saturday, Makhadzi was advised by the doctor to cancel all her shows which were scheduled for yesterday and take a rest. Learn more