Tunisian lawyers began a general strike on Thursday that includes all courts in the country, while their dean, Boubaker Balthabet, called on the authorities to stop using the judiciary against them.
During a protest rally in front of the Palace of Justice in the capital, dozens of lawyers chanted slogans such as: “Freedoms.. Freedoms.. Oh, judiciary of instructions,” “The legal profession is free, free.. and tyranny is out,” “Rights.. Freedom.. Judicial justice,” and “Resignation is the solution, oh, Minister of Failure,” referring to Justice Minister Leila Jaffal.
Tunisian lawyers are demanding improved working conditions and court conditions, accusing the authorities of not listening to their repeated demands over the years.
The strike comes as the culmination of a series of strikes and protests carried out by lawyers in most Tunisian cities as part of what was called the “month of anger”.
During the protest, the head of the lawyers’ association, Boubaker Belthabet, denounced the authorities’ failure to listen to their demands, adding: “We have found nothing but silence, disregard, hidden and overt maneuvers, and smear campaigns. They unleash petty people and mobs on us.”
He continued, saying: “The legal profession is on a clear path, and lawyers have clear goals, and there is no room to intimidate them,” while denouncing “the Minister of Justice’s attempts to sow discord among lawyers.”
He concluded by saying: “Instructions have been issued to all departments that are considering major cases to schedule hearings today (coinciding with the strike), including cases in which a number of lawyers are being prosecuted. What is the purpose of this? Is it collective punishment for lawyers?”
Al-Thabit had revealed, in a statement that included the call for the strike, that the association had submitted a number of demands to the Ministry of Justice, including “reforming the sector and saving the lawyers’ pension fund, improving working conditions in the courts, removing obstacles to the effective practice of defense, and providing the legally mandated guarantees for the legal profession and the judiciary,” stressing that it had not received any response.
In addition, the Workers' Party issued a statement of solidarity with the lawyers, expressing its full support for the strike they are waging "in defense of the legal profession in the face of the restrictions and violations it is subjected to, which represent the sector's share of the repression and tyranny to which the Tunisian people and the democratic and progressive political, civil and trade union forces are subjected."
He considered that the practice of lawyers’ profession in freedom and independence is “a fundamental condition without which the elements of a fair trial and the protection of the rights of litigants cannot be available, which makes any restriction or violation to which the legal profession is subjected a matter that affects the whole of society.”
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