Tunisia's Judges Association calls for a protest on Feb 24

The Tunisian Judges Association called on Tuesday for a protest on Feb. 24 in response to the ongoing targeting of Tunisia's judicial authority, it said in a statement.

Tunisian President Kais Saied announced his decision to dissolve the Supreme Judicial Council earlier in February and extended the country's state of emergency until Dec. 31 of this year.

This comes after a member of Tunisia's suspended parliament, Yassin Ayari, told Reuters that a military court sentenced him in absentia to 10 months in prison on charges of insulting the president and the army after he described the president's move to freeze parliament as a military coup.

Saied suspended the Parliament on 25 July, dismissed the government and seized control of most authorities, drawing widespread criticism at home and abroad.

The prison sentence will reinforce opposition fears that Saied is seeking revenge on his opponents, after he also dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council, the body which guarantees independence of the judiciary.

(Reuters)