Protesting the dissolution of President Qays Said, the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, on Thursday, hundreds of judges and lawyers demonstrated in front of the Palace of Justice in Tunis.

According to AFP, more than 200 protesters gathered outside the building in support of the strike organized by judges Wednesday and Thursday at the invitation of the Association of Tunisian Judges.

It is recalled that after he suspended the work of Parliament and dismissed the government in July 2021, President Saeed Sabbath announced the dissolution of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, an independent body established in 2016 to oversee professional judicial affairs, accusing its members of "loyalties" and falling under the influence of his opponent, the Renaissance Party.

Demonstrators chanted slogans, most notably "The people want an independent judiciary" and "The coup falls," amid a large security presence.

Before the Palace of Justice in Tunisia, judges dressed in their job dress raised signs with slogans including "Demolition of rights and freedoms by the Supreme Council of the Judiciary" and "No distortion, no intimidation, no incitement against the judiciary."

Despite the demonstration and the strike, President Qays Said confirmed at the opening of a cabinet meeting Thursday that a decree to dissolve the Supreme Council of the Judiciary would be published in the coming days.

"Let it be clear that this Council will be dissolved under this Decree and there can be no question about this option," said Saeed.

The President again considered that "the judiciary is a function, not an authority, and judges are all subject to the law."