The lawyers-judges crisis is not likely to end soon, Mona El-Nahhas reports The Tanta Appeals Court decided on Sunday to delay the trial of lawyers Ihab Saei'eddin and Mustafa Fattouh, convicted of assaulting a senior prosecutor in Tanta until 18 July, and to resume hearings. During Sunday's session, the court heard testimonies from 13 witnesses. For the second time, the court ruled that Saei'eddin and Fattouh should be remanded in custody. The case of the two lawyers, who each received a five-year jail term on 9 June issued by a first degree criminal court in Tanta, has been stirring widespread protests among lawyers, creating a deep fissure in their relationship with the judiciary. Judges argue that the entire issue is in the hands of the judiciary which will have the final say. Lawyers on the other hand are pressing for a fair trial of their colleagues. In response to a decree issued by the Bar Association Council, a general work stoppage has been staged throughout Egypt's courts, together with recurrent sit-ins. Negotiations between representatives of the two sides have thus far failed. The case has attracted much attention from the media and public. While the media continues to track the story, the public has tended to sympathise with the lawyers, viewing the ruling passed against them as harsh. "The ruling was issued on the first day of the trial, without even hearing the defence of the lawyers," said Mohamed Hassan, a 35-year-old taxi driver. "Why the hurry when heaps of cases have been in courts for years?" Hassan wondered. Since the early hours of Sunday morning, Tanta Courts Complex was tense due to the heavy presence of the security apparatus. Streets leading to the court were cordoned off. Armoured security trucks queued in front of the court complex. Around 500 lawyers gathered outside the court, shouting slogans backing their colleagues. The lawyers also hung banners which summed up their demands: releasing the two lawyers on bail, guaranteeing a fair trial for them and conducting an investigation with the prosecutor Bassem Abul-Rous who, the lawyers claim, instigated the attack. Before the start of the hearing, clashes between lawyers and security men were reported after a large number of lawyers were not allowed into the courtroom. One lawyer suffered a head injury and was taken to hospital. Other lawyers were slightly injured. Inside the courtroom, the court insisted that save for the defence team of the two lawyers, other lawyers should quit. The media were banned from attending. During the hearing, Montasser El-Zayat, a leading member of the defence team, took all by surprise after he stepped outside the courtroom, informing reporters that he had decided to quit. El-Zayat said he took the decision to protest against what was reported as an apology allegedly made by the two lawyers to Abul-Rous. During the hearing, the general prosecution representative submitted to the court a briefcase containing a statement signed by Saei'eddin in which a written apology to Abul-Rous was made. In the statement, Saei'eddin said his intention was to withdraw the complaint filed against Abul-Rous. Wagie Seddiq, a lawyer from the Gharbiya governorate, stressed during the hearing that the two lawyers asked him to represent them during the trial and to state it in writing. However, the two convicted lawyers deny taking such a step. "I never wrote such an apology. I swear it," Saei'eddin told the court. His colleague took a similar oath. "Nobody should act behind the back of the legitimate representative of the lawyers, namely the Bar Association and its chairman Hamdi Khalifa," El-Zayat told reporters. "Whether or not one agrees with Khalifa, he still remains the Bar Association chairman," El-Zayat noted. El-Zayat has been criticising Khalifa for his performance during the crisis. Two days before the hearing, the council of the Gharbiya lawyers branch syndicate discussed the alleged apology. Galal Shalabi, chairman of the Bar Association in Gharbiya, vowed to strip the two lawyers of their membership from the syndicate list if it was proven that they in fact gave such apology. Should that happen, Shalabi, a member of the defence team, said he will have no choice but to stop representing the lawyers. "What happened during today's hearing clearly reflects the lack of coordination between the members of the defence," said Khaled Abu Kresha, a member of the Bar Association Council and a sharp critic of Khalifa, the head of the defence.
