The Muslim Brotherhood said on Wednesday that its lawyers filed a lawsuit to open the trials of former regime officials and allow them to be broadcast publicly. The Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group, said on its website that the trials should be aired so the public can know the details of the proceedings. An earlier judicial decree banned the airing of court trials. The group argued the ban on courtroom broadcasting conflicts with the interim constitution and international conventions. Lawyers for the group cited Article 13 of the interim constitution, which guarantees the freedom of journalism and publishing and bans censorship and administrative suspensions of newspapers. Article 52 states trial sessions are open unless the court decides to close them to preserve public order. In either case, the article requires that the verdict be delivered in an open session, according to the Brotherhood. The lawyers said that open trials ensure justice, which cannot be achieved if courtroom attendance is limited to plaintiffs and defendants. The Brotherhood filed the suit against the justice minister, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council and the president of Cairo's Court of Appeal, according to its website.
