President Saied to issue decree to dissolve Tunisia's top judiciary body

Tunisia's president has said that he would issue a decree effectively dissolving the Supreme Judiciary Council, one of the last remaining institutions in the country able to work independently of him, adding he would name a new council.

The president, Kais Saied, on Sunday had announced plans to dissolve the council in the latest in a series of moves his opponents have called a coup.

Saied said in a speech during a cabinet meeting that a draft penal reconciliation decree had been prepared that would offer pardons to businessmen involved in corruption on condition that they financed development projects. 

He gave no further details.

Judges' protest

A few minutes after the president's comments on Thursday, the council announced it rejected his decision, saying the "current structure is the only representative of the judiciary."

Dozens of judges in uniform protested in front of Tunis court on Thursday, shouting slogans calling for Saied to respect the independence of the judiciary.

They were also joined by a number of lawyers and Tunisian citizens who supported the judges.

The council is an independent constitutional body whose tasks include ensuring the independence of the judiciary.

READ MORE: HRW: 'Secret detentions' in Tunisia under state of emergency

'Thing of the past'

The council “has become a thing of the past,” Saied said earlier, accusing it of becoming a place “where positions and appointments are sold according to loyalties.”

Tunisian security forces closed the council’s headquarters on Monday and prevented employees from entering it.

READ MORE: President Saied's 'online consultation' leaves Tunisians on edge

Last July, Saied dismissed the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority amid mounting public anger over economic stagnation and political paralysis.

While Saied insists that his "exceptional measures" were meant to "save" the country, critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup.