Media Coverage

A coalition of 10 international human rights groups on Friday slammed Tunisian President Kais Saied for dealing “a deep blow to judicial independence” after he fired dozens of judges. Saied issued a presidential decree on June 1 in which he awarded himself the power to fire judges, and then sacked...

Tunisian judges have launched a week-long strike in protest at President Kais Saied’s “interference” in the judiciary, days after he sacked 57 of their colleagues, accusing them of corruption and protecting “terrorists.” The strike, which began on Monday, is the latest in a series of escalating...

Tunisian police used pepper spray to disperse protesters against President Kais Saied's planned July referendum on Saturday, June 4, nearly a year after he seized wide-ranging powers in what opponents decry as a coup. The police blocked the protesters, who numbered around 100, as they attempted to...

Tunisia’s powerful UGTT trade union has refused to participate in a national dialogue proposed by President Kais Saied, its spokesperson has said, arguing the process excluded democratic forces. Saied sacked the democratically elected government last July before dissolving parliament and seizing...

Tunisian President Kais Saied late on Wednesday issued a decree dissolving parliament, which has been suspended since last year, after it defied him by voting to repeal decrees that he used to assume near total power. Speaking after an online session of more than half the parliament members, their...

Tunisia’s president has appointed a temporary replacement for the country’s top judicial council, a body he dissolved last month in what his opponents called a move to consolidate his power. President Kais Saied seized executive authority last year and last month broke up the top supreme judicial...

Tunisia’s president has issued a decree establishing a new provisional Supreme Judiciary Council, effectively replacing the body he abolished and granting himself additional powers to control the country’s top judicial organization. The decree, published on the official gazette on Sunday, says the...

Tunisian police on Monday blocked access to the country's top judicial watchdog in a move its chief slammed as "illegal," two days after President Kais Saied dissolved the body. The United States, for its part, said it was "deeply concerned" by Saied's action. Security forces blocked all roads to...

Saied has broadened his grip on power since July 25, when he sacked the government and froze parliament before moving to rule by decree in Tunisia— – the cradle of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings that ousted a series of autocratic leaders. Many Tunisians welcomed his actions against a political...

The Tunisian police used water cannon, sticks, and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters trying to reach central Tunis to demonstrate against the president in defiance of COVID-19 restrictions. Opposition parties have been protesting against the suspension of parliament by President Kais Saied...