Will the rulings of the “Secret Service” in Tunisia further block the political horizon? | policy

News of judicial rulings, arrests, and security prosecutions dominated the daily scene in Tunisia, amid widespread criticism from activists and human rights activists who considered their nature linked to the suppression of political and human rights freedoms.

The rulings of the case known in the media as the “Secret Service” of the Ennahda Movement, issued by the criminal department responsible for examining terrorism cases in the Tunisian Court of First Instance, caused a political and judicial earthquake in the country, as it imposed life imprisonment with 30 years for the leader of the movement, Rached Ghannouchi, and 42 years in prison for former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh.

This judicial development resulted in a sharp division, and reopened the battle for judicial independence and the conflict of constitutional concepts between the decision-making authority and the implementation function.

The Ennahdha Movement described these rulings as “political” and represent a dangerous and unprecedented deviation in the course of justice, in conjunction with the call of the National Salvation Front to stop using files to liquidate opponents.

Different readings

In this context, writer and political analyst Ahmed Al-Ghiloufi said that the “secret apparatus” is a myth that does not exist criminally, citing weighty statements that denied any criminal connection between Ennahda and the assassinations, stressing that its responsibility is only political.

Al-Ghiloufi indicated – during his speech on the “Beyond the News” program – that the file was tossed around among the courts until it settled in the Ariana Judicial Complex to silence opponents through a “cheap and cowardly struggle.”

On the other hand, lawyer and political analyst Qaiser Al-Sayyah defended the fairness of the rulings, considering that the judicial system has been recovering for two years, and that the rulings – even if they are harsh – are based on fixed legal rules that have passed through all stages of litigation, from the investigating judges to the indictment and prosecution departments.

Al-Sayyah stressed that the file had a security nature related to espionage and infiltration of state institutions, and its details were confirmed by judges.

Judicial power or executive function?

As for the structure and structure of the judiciary, Al-Gelofi presented a constitutional dilemma indicating that the current constitution written by the authority abolished the term “judicial authority” and transformed it into a “judicial function,” making judges mere employees subject to the orders of the executive authority by telephone under a climate of terror and intimidation.

Al-Giloufi cited the dismissal of 80 judges, and the authority refused to implement the Administrative Court’s decision that acquitted 50 judges and ordered their return.

In an attempt to refute this vision, Al-Sayyah said that the judiciary is standing on its feet and is not an employee of any party, inferring that the prosecutions have affected the pillars of authority itself.

According to Al-Sayyah, one of the most senior advisors to the Minister of Justice is currently in prison, as is the most senior head of the judicial judiciary (sentenced to 30 years on charges of seizing funds), and the former Public Prosecutor in the capital, which denies the charge of settling exclusive political scores with the opposition.

Opposition options

Under the weight of international condemnation from organizations including Amnesty International, Al-Sayyah believes that Tunisia is experiencing complete stability, and that the era of chaos and absolute freedom that allows for conspiring against the security of the state has ended, describing the opposition as lacking popularity and programs.

On the other hand, Al-Giloufi pointed to the “balance of weakness” and deep blockage in the country, as the authority faces a severe economic and social failure and deficit, felt by the citizen in the unprecedented high prices, loss of medicines, and inability to buy Eid sacrifices, in exchange for a dispersed and collapsed opposition that relies on ideological charges and lacks real solution programs.

Almost 5 years ago, Tunisia – after President Kais Saied announced a set of exceptional measures that included the dissolution of Parliament and the government – entered a sharp turning point that changed the features of the political scene, as it began, according to critics, towards what they describe as a “new dictatorship.”