Tunisian President sacks 57 judges tightens, grip on courts

Saied, who has steadily extended his powers since he sacked the government and suspended parliament last July, issued a decree late on Wednesday.

In the early hours of Thursday, the official gazette published a list of judges who had been dismissed, and who may face prosecution. It did not list the reasons for their sacking.

Saied had at an earlier cabinet meeting accused unnamed judges of corruption, stalling "terrorism" cases, sexual harassment, collusion with political parties and obstruction of justice.

Saied had long accused the previous judicial watchdog, whose members were partly elected by parliament, of blocking politically sensitive investigations and being influenced by his nemesis, the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party.

A former head of the dissolved body is among those who lost their jobs on Thursday, along with a former anti-terror court spokesman and a former customs chief.

Also on the list are judges involved in a long-running inquiry into the 2013 killings of two left-wing politicians, Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi.