"The confiscated properties sold without their real value should be returned to the Tunisian people," said President Kais Saied during his meeting with Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani, Justice Minister Leila Jaffel and Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri Namsia at Carthage Palace on Friday. According to a video released by the presidency, the head of state said that these properties "were confiscated for the Tunisian state and not for hidden lobbies or lobbies allied with lobbies that came after 2011". Saied criticised a number of people whose "hearts are on the left, but their financial portfolios are on the right and have nothing to do with the left... They have a lot of money abroad, but they talk about socialist and Marxist narratives, and actually have nothing to do with these narratives," he said. "I know a number of them who used to pretend that they were presenting a project to the Tunisian people, but experience has shown that when they took responsibility they fell into the arms of the lobbies," he sa id. "We are ready to clean up the judiciary again and I refuse to interfere in the judiciary," the president stressed, adding that judges should only "assume their responsibilities and exercise their judicial function". "Judges should exercise their function with full independence and apply the law, and no one is above the law, including judges themselves." "Tunisia cannot stand as long as the judiciary is not independent," he stressed. President Saied recalled that he had never interfered in the judiciary and had never filed a case against any person, association or party. Source: EN - Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
