Judges vow to reply to what they say is the state's attempt to quash their pro-reform colleagues. Mona El-Nahhas reports During an emergency meeting of the Cairo Judges Club held Tuesday evening, judges staged a sit-in to protest against the disciplinary measures the state intends to take against two pro-reform judges. Other measures will be taken, the club board said, if the state "does not stop its aggression against honourable judges". The board asked President Hosni Mubarak to intervene, otherwise they warned "consequences will be very serious." The meeting was held just two days after Justice Minister Mahmoud Abul-Leil ordered that judges Hesham Bastawisi and Mahmoud Mekki be referred to a disciplinary judicial council to decide whether they are qualified to continue their judicial career. If not, Bastawisi and Mekki, who are the Cassation Court's deputies of the chief justice, may be either dismissed or transferred to an administrative job. The trial of the two judges before the council, which was Abul-Leil's decision taken in accordance with a request submitted by Prosecutor- General Maher Abdel-Wahed, will start on 27 April. The council is headed by judge Fathi Khalifa, chairman of the state-appointed Supreme Judiciary Council. Khalifa, like many pro-government judges, has attacked reformist judges, describing them as a minority who harm the image of the judiciary. Such criticism were reasons why judges argued Khalifa's chairmanship of the disciplinary council would not guarantee a fair trial for the judges. The current judiciary law, which judges are struggling to amend, gives the justice minister the right to refer judges to a disciplinary judicial council if prosecution investigations prove they have committed flagrant violations. For nearly a year, Bastawisi and Mekki have been leading a campaign to reform the judiciary. They have been pressing for the endorsement of a draft law prepared by the Judges Club since the early 1990s to replace the current judiciary law which curbs judiciary authority according to the majority of judges. The new law aims at achieving total independence of the judiciary by separating it from the executive authority, represented by the Justice Ministry. The two judges were also outspoken in revealing electoral fraud which marred last year's parliamentary and presidential elections. They filed several complaints to the prosecutor-general asking him to conduct an investigation into those responsible for the rigging. The names of several judges were included in the complaints. Instead of investigating those suspected of rigging, Abdel-Wahed asked the permission of the judiciary council to question Bastawisi, Mekki and four other judges who revealed rigging practices. The six judges were charged with harming the image of the judiciary after publishing in newspapers a blacklist including the names of judges who were suspected of taking part in the rigging of votes. The Judiciary Council responded to Abdel-Wahed's request, however, investigations with the six judges have not yet begun, leading prominent judges to doubt the legitimacy of the minister's decree. A lawsuit was filed before the administrative court to annul the minister's decree. His decision was viewed as offering clear-cut proof of the lack of true independence of the judiciary. "If the judiciary were independent, the minister would not be able to interfere and discipline judges who do not follow orders," judge Ahmed Saber, a board member of the Cairo Judges Club, said. The measures taken against Bastawisi and Mekki were also viewed as an insult to the judiciary and a prelude to a new massacre of judges reminiscent of the 1969 incident when nearly 120 judges were dismissed for political reasons. "It doesn't matter if I lose my job so long as I don't lose my self-esteem and the people's respect for me," Mekki said concerning the minister's decree. Bastawisi said the aim behind such measures was to silence judges and stop them from exposing electoral fraud. "Acting in this way, they hoped to give some sort of legitimacy to elections. And this will never happen," Bastawisi said. He added that such irresponsible acts will do nothing but increase the current state of political rage and rekindle the conflict between the state and reformers. The judges in question said the minister's decision was not surprising. "We expected from the very beginning that the state would do everything to resist real judicial reform," Bastawisi said, adding that their struggle for reform and independence will never stop. Human rights groups, appalled at the minister's decree, warned of liquidating honourable judges. A statement issued by the Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary expected that other prominent judges, especially members of judges clubs' boards, will meet similar fates as that of Bastawisi and Mekki. The statement described their case as a serious development which shows the state persecuting judges who are reform advocates. The escalating tension provoked a storm of protest in the People's Assembly on Monday when nearly a fifth of MPs, the majority of whom belong to the Muslim Brotherhood, asked the People's Assembly speaker Fathi Sorour to question the justice minister. Sorour turned down the request, saying the People's Assembly should not interfere in the affairs of the judiciary which, he said, enjoys total independence.
