Lawyers in Cairo and across the country are continuing their protest against the judicial fee increase bill. Some layers announced they would go on strike today in front of Helwan Court. In a statement, they said that if the government, represented by the justice minister, did not meet their demands and amend the bill, they would escalate their protest. They also warned that today's strike would just be the first step to have the bill amended. Tarek Khater, the head of the group for legal help to human rights – one of the bodies calling for the strike – said that a meeting was held at the presence of some 420 lawyers (something similar to the general assembly) and that they agreed to stage that protest. Khater pointed out that many of Helwan's residents declared their solidarity with the strike and surprisingly thanked the lawyers for that, as the proposed bill would take away their right to resort to the judiciary. His opinion was shared by Moheb el-Makawi, rapporteur of the freedom committee at the branch of the Bar Association in Dakahlia. Mohamed Shabbana, the committee cashier, described the law as unfair, adding that all lawyers would continue refusing it even if it were amended. In particular, he said they rejected Article 9, which increases the fees by 2,000 times. Dozens of lawyers had staged a protest in front of Damietta Court on Thursday afternoon against the approval to the bill. They had also voiced their rejection to the justice minister's proposal to reduce the fees. The lawyers had raised boards voicing their refusal to increase the fees and chanted slogans criticizing the government's attempts to draft the law, which they described as a great injustice against them. Luxor's courts came to a complete standstill as lawyers there went on strike for the same reason. The head of Luxor's Bar Association, Abou el-Hassan, said layers had gone on strike in Edsna and Armant, too.
