Tunisian judges and lawyers protest against police 'pressure'

Tunisia's judges on Thursday postponed the beginning of court hearings for two hours across the country amid a dispute with security unions, judicial sources said.

The judges were angered this week when a large number of security personnel gathered in front of a local court in the city of Ben Arouse in north-eastern Tunisia, demanding the release of three colleagues held for alleged torture of a prisoner. Security unions denied the torture of the prisoner held in a terrorism-related case.

"The independence of the judiciary is a red line," chanted the judges standing on the steps of the courthouse in Ben Arous in their black robes and white neck bands.

"Security agents are not above the law. We are building a democratic state. All institutions must respect each other," one of the judges, Basma Hamada, told journalists.

The association of Tunisian magistrates called for the two-hour work stoppage in the country's courts on Thursday's "day of rage".

On Monday, police officers, some in uniform and some in police cars with flashing lights, gathered outside the courthouse calling for the release of five colleagues being tried on charges of torturing a detainee.

A police union member denied the force had been exerting undue pressure on the judiciary.

"How could we have been putting pressure on the judiciary when we were outside the courthouse?" Nessim Rouissi asked on private radio station Shems FM.

Local rights groups have criticised security unions, saying their reaction poses a threat to the judiciary's independence in Tunisia. Tunisian judges have repeatedly called for better working conditions, including providing security for court employees.

Tunisia is widely seen as the sole democratic success story of the 2010-11 Arab Spring uprisings. The country has been in the grip of an economic slowdown, resulting from the unrest that followed the revolt against long-time dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and ensuing attacks by insurgents.    (AFP/dpa)