Tunisian president steps up power grab with move against judges

FILE PHOTO: Tunisia's President Kais Saied gives a speech at the government's swearing-in ceremony at the Carthage Palace outside the capital Tunis, Tunisia February 27, 2020. Fethi Belaid/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

TUNIS (Reuters) - President Kais Saied's move to dissolve Tunisia's top judicial authority has triggered a critical confrontation over rule of law and his own accountability as he slides further towards one-man rule.

Saied, who suspended parliament and seized executive power last summer in moves his foes called a coup, has for months been attacking the judiciary as part of a corrupt, self-serving elite that disdains ordinary people to protect its own interests.