Since 2021, Tunisia has faced repeated attacks on the independence of the judiciary. The dismantling of the Conseil Supérieur de la Magistrature, the arbitrary dismissal of magistrates, transfers as sanctions, disciplinary pressure and smear campaigns have all multiplied in an attempt to subjugate the judiciary to executive power.

The verdict of April 18, 2025, in the so-called "plot against State security" case, crystallized this authoritarian drift: serious violations of defense rights, disregard for fair trial standards, instrumentalization of justice for political ends.

Over and above the convictions, this verdict reveals the subservience of judges to the executive, transformed into mere executors of a political decision. The deplorable image of judges reduced to the rank of pawns of a dictator. But this negative image does not tell the whole story. Other faces illustrate the resistance: that of Judge Moez Ghribi, arbitrarily transferred after invoking his state of health to escape a parody of justice; that of Judge Lamia Maghraoui, sanctioned for refusing to take part in this masquerade. These transfers confirm the veracity of former magistrate Ahmed Souab's comments on the pressure and threats hanging over the members of the 5th Criminal Chamber. Their dismissal is a threatening signal to the entire judiciary: submit or be punished.

Behind this repression, a silent resistance persists: that of many magistrates of integrity, grouped notably within the Association des Magistrats Tunisiens (AMT), who refuse to compromise. They do their utmost to resist, exercising their functions with dignity despite the risks.

The other reality is no less striking: a significant proportion of the judiciary, whether through opportunism or ideological adherence, collaborates with the regime by validating iniquitous procedures. These people must be publicly denounced.

And finally, let's not forget the magistrates, terrorized by repression, paralyzed by fear and effectively reduced to silence.

The CRLDHT

• Reiterates its firm condemnation of the illegal interference of the Minister of Justice, who, through disciplinary transfers imposed by memos, transgresses the texts in force, in particular Presidential Decree-Law 11/2022 and the Constitution of 2022;
• Denounces the instrumentalization of a law dating from 1967 and since repealed in order to establish a "carrot and stick" policy aimed at subjugating the judiciary, in parallel with the deliberate neutralization of the provisional Higher Council of the Judiciary by President Kaïs Saïed;
• Is outraged by the Ministry of Justice's plan to turn the country's inland courts into places of relegation for restive magistrates;
• Expresses its solidarity with all magistrates who refuse to submit and calls on professional associations, lawyers, the judicial family and Tunisian and international civil society to defend the independence of the judiciary and the right to a fair trial;
• We also deplore the shameful complicity of the Bar Council, which refuses to register judges who have been dismissed or resigned;

• Holds Kaïs Saïed personally responsible - under its own Constitution - for violations of human rights and the independence of the judiciary and enjoins him to :
  • Respect ruling n°16/2021 of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights ordering the annulment of decree-law 11/2022.
  • Comply with ruling 08/2024 suspending decree-law no. 35/2022.
  • Reinstate dismissed judges without delay in accordance with the decisions of the Administrative Tribunal.
• Calls for all international cooperation to be conditional on effective guarantees of judicial independence.
• Demands that the authorities immediately set a date for the official visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, which has been postponed without any justification.