Tunisian leader seeks to dissolve nation’s top judiciary

Tunisia’s president has announced a plan to dissolve the national judiciary body on suspicion of corruption and mishandling of sensitive political cases, according to local media reports Sunday.

The decision by President Kais Saied to disband the Superior Council of the Judiciary comes as Tunisians mark the ninth anniversary of the assassination of a prominent left-wing leader and an outspoken critic of the Islamist movement.

During a surprise visit to the Tunisia’s Interior Ministry on Saturday night, Said blasted members of the judiciary, accusing some judges and magistrates of “corruption … nepotism … and stalling proceedings in several cases, including those of political assassinations.”

“The Superior Council of the Judiciary can from now on consider itself a thing of the past,” the president said, adding that a decree to set up a provisional council will be issued soon.