A judicial battle DURING an emergency general assembly meeting of the State Council (a council that combines the two courts of the administrative judiciary), the assembled judges stressed on Thursday that they are not going to accept proposals that would deprive the council of any of its capacities. The stance adopted by the State Council came after calls by the Administrative Prosecution to lend it the disciplinary judiciary power in the new constitution, arguing that this will help reduce the litigation time, which the State Council usually take to issue rulings in disciplinary cases. The State Litigation Authority on its part called for lending it the right to revise all the state contracts. During the general assembly, judges rejected what it called attempts to dismantle the State Council and strip it of its jurisdiction, adding that the council will foil all those attempts. The State Council opened fire at the two judicial bodies, saying they have no judicial capacity as members working for them are not judges. The assembly said it will be in session until this issue is resolved. On its part, the State Litigation Authority held a press conference on Saturday to reply to what it viewed as insults from the part of the State Council at two judicial bodies. The judges presiding in an ongoing trial of Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohamed Badie and co-defendants on charges of incitement of murder have withdrawn from the case on Tuesday.The three judges from the South Cairo Criminal Court cited a conflict of interest as their reason for stepping down, without giving further details. Supreme guide Mohamed Badie and his deputies Khairat Al-Shater and Rashad Bayoumi are accused of inciting the murder of protesters at the Brotherhood Guidance Bureau headquarters in Cairo during clashes which took place on 30 June. Nine protesters were killed and other 91 protesters were injured when fights broke out after anti-Brotherhood protesters stormed the building. The South Cairo prosecution has referred six defendants to the Criminal Court for trial on the charges. The defendants include Mustafa Abdel-Azim, Mohamed Abdel-Azim and Atef Abdel-Galil.Badie and Al-Shater, along with former president Mohamed Morsi, are facing trial in a number of different cases. Morsi is due to appear in court alongside 14 others on 4 November on charges of inciting murder and torture during deadly clashes between his supporters and opponents outside the presidential palace in December 2012. The deposed president has refused to recognise the court, declining to delegate lawyers to defend him over murder allegations.
Deeply divided TWELVE of Egypt's liberal Constitution Party leaders submitted their resignations on Sunday in protest at the troubled party's internal policies. The action came in protest at the party's concentration on its political project while lacking a “realistic economic programme” and also lacking a “large popular base” that could support the party in upcoming elections. Moreover, Shadi Al-Ghazali Harb, one of the resigned members, stated that the action came because of the lack of organisational structure of the party, and the absence of clear political vision. “It's sad to know about the resignations, but there are discussions in order to make them undone,” Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar, secretary-general of Al-Dostour Party, said. “Such action does not adversely affect the party, this political practices often occur in the beginnings of any party's era,” Abdel-Ghaffar added. The Constitution Party, founded by opposition figure Mohamed Al-Baradei in 2012, has been facing internal strife in the past year with youth sit-ins against some internal policies and a number of its leading members — including legal expert Hossam Eissa — tendering their resignations. Ahmed Al-Boraai, George Ishak, Buthaina Kamel, Hani Sarieddin, Tarek Al-Ghazali Harb, Kamal Abbas, Ahmed Eid, Israa Abdel-Fattah, Mohamed Anis, Shadi Al-Ghazali Harb and Nasser Abdel-Hamid are among the leaders who signed the resignations. Two weeks ago, 54 members of Egypt's liberal Constitution Party office in Alexandria submitted their resignations in protest at the same reasons.
Hunger strike NOHA Khedr, the Egyptian embassy charge d'affaires in Tunisia, visited the detained Egyptian fishermen in the Tunisian port of Sfax this week, in order to check on the crew's 16 members, and providing food and all their needs. Khedr confirmed that all members of the crew are in a good health, and that the embassy is doing its best to negotiate with the Tunisian authorities to swiftly end their detention. The Tunisian authorities detained 16 Egyptian fishermen a fortnight ago for entering Tunisian territorial waters without a permit. The detained Egyptian fishermen entered as a result on Saturday a hunger strike, after the Tunisian court rejected the appeal offered to reduce the fine imposed on them. Tunisia has imposed a fine of LE600,000 on the fishermen and their boat. Ahmed Abdu Nassar, chairman of the fishermen Syndicate in Kafr Al-Sheikh, said that the Tunisian authorities have refused to enter the food for fishermen detained, and badly treat them. “The authorities told them you have no government to defend you,” Nassar said. Nassar also stated that the fishermen are in a very bad state of health and jailed in the public Sfax prison, demanding the intervention of the state and officials of the Foreign Ministry for their release. Moreover, he said that hundreds of the fishermen's relatives and their colleagues probably stag a sit-in in front of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, as long as the ministry didn't interfere with Tunisian authorities to release the fishermen and the boat.
