US says they are ‘deeply concerned’ about the dissolution of Tunisia’s judicial watchdog

This comes as police in Tunisia locked the doors of the Supreme Judicial Council, preventing staff from entering only a day after the President dissolved it.

It follows judges rejecting the president’s decision to break up the council that oversees them, with fears that he may be abusing his power as it was one of the only independent state bodies.

The President has previously accused the judiciary of corruption but denied that he would interfere in their work, saying the move is a matter of “necessity”.