After a three-hour questioning session on 19 February parliament's Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee said it would decide next week whether MP Anwar Al-Sadat is to be stripped of his parliamentary membership. Head of the committee Bahaaeddin Abu Shokka told reporters on Sunday evening that “Al-Sadat will be questioned again next Sunday after which we will decide whether he should be stripped of his membership.” Ihab Al-Tamawi, the committee's spokesperson, said “Al-Sadat was questioned on Sunday over three accusations: leaking a government-drafted NGO law to a foreign embassy in Cairo, forwarding classified information to the Inter-Parliamentary Union [IPU], and faking the signatures of 16 MPs.” Al-Sadat was allowed one hour and half to defend himself and to respond to questions over the three accusations,” said Al-Tamawi. “Following his defence, the committee decided another meeting be held next Sunday.” “We are not a politicised committee and we want to give Al-Sadat enough time to defend himself and respond to questions,” said Abu Shokka. Abu Shokka defended his decision that only MPs who are members of the committee be allowed to attend the questioning session next Sunday. “This conforms to Article 53 of parliament's internal bylaws which states that if the Ethics Committee recommends an MP be stripped of parliamentary membership, members of the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee must hold a closed-door meeting to discuss the recommendation, question the MP and listen to his defence,” he said. As a result, Abu Shokka decided that MPs affiliated with leftist 25-30 parliamentary bloc and who are not members of the committee be banned from attending the meeting. Five MPs who have accused Al-Sadat of faking their signatures will be allowed to attend the meeting to question him. “Lawyer and independent MP Ahmed Al-Bardisi will also be allowed to join the meeting to defend Al-Sadat,” said Abu Shokka. Al-Sadat's questioning came after the 15-member Ethics Committee, also headed by Abu Shokka, agreed last week that Al-Sadat's parliamentary membership should be dropped after he failed to defend himself against accusations that he was involved in collecting and sending classified information to the IPU, leaking a draft NGO law to the Dutch ambassador in Cairo and faking the signatures of 16 of his colleagues on laws he drafted on criminal procedure and NGOs. Al-Sadat told reporters at the end of the questioning session on Sunday that he denied having forwarded classified information to any foreign body. “A draft of the government NGO law was available on the Internet where anyone could see it,” Al-Sadat said. “The Dutch ambassador himself has said he never met me or received a copy of a draft NGO law from me.” Al-Sadat, nephew of late president Anwar Al-Sadat, insisted that he had forwarded a complaint to the IPU, not classified information. Al-Sadat also denied faking the signatures of colleagues on laws he drafted. “Most of these gave their signatures and later decided to withdraw these signatures,” he said. Backed by leftist and liberal MPs, Al-Sadat lashed out against the Ethics Committee's recommendation, describing it as “biased and politicised”. He also announced that he had officially requested that Prosecutor-General Nabil Sadek question him over the accusations made by the Ethics Committee. In his request, Al-Sadat wrote that “since these accusations negatively affect my dignity and reputation as an MP I hope that you officially ask parliament that I be stripped of my parliamentary immunity so that you can take all the measures necessary to uncover the truth and all the facts related to these accusations”. Al-Tamawi told reporters that “if the 47-member Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee agrees next Sunday that Al-Sadat be stripped of membership a report on this recommendation will be prepared to be discussed in a plenary session.” It will then be up to MPs to vote on the recommendation. “Article 110 of the constitution stipulates parliament must meet in a plenary session to decide whether an MP has lost trust or violated rules, Two-thirds of MPs should vote in favour of the recommendation for it to be effective,” said Al-Tamawi. Al-Sadat hopes that “if a final report recommends I be stripped of my parliamentary membership a majority of MPs will vote against the recommendation”. Sources say that though Al-Sadat mounted a credible defence on Sunday he faces a hostile majority on the Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee. Al-Sadat has accused the Ethics Committee of pursuing him because he “accused Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal of squandering LE18 million on buying three armoured cars at a time of austerity measures and economic crisis.” Al-Sadat said he told the committee on Sunday that he is justifiably worried that some members are working under the orders of Abdel-Aal. “The speaker is pressuring committee members to recommend I be stripped of membership,” said Al-Sadat. The committee's meeting on Sunday saw verbal clashes between Al-Sadat and MPs Mustafa Bakri and Mortada Mansour. “Bakri accused Al-Sadat of being a professional forger while Mansour charged him with illegally obtaining money from foreign human rights organisations,” said an informed source. “Mansour told Al-Sadat that what he sent to the IPU was not just a complaint but a provocative message asking the IPU to take retaliatory measures against Egypt's parliament.” In a plenary session on 13 February Abdel-Aal accused Al-Sadat of taking photos of his armoured car and giving copies to television channels and private newspapers. “If I were to be assassinated the man who took photos of the car of the House speaker would have to be considered a partner in the crime,” said Abdel-Aal. Abdel-Aal said that “some MPs still insist on showing unacceptable conduct”. “I was a professor at Ain Shams University for 45 years and it never happened that a professor attacked the university's board of governors. I wonder how an MP can insist on attacking Egypt's parliament on false grounds,” said Abdel-Aal.
