Nearly ten thousand lawyers crowded into the Tanta city square Wednesday from 6 AM to express solidarity with lawyers Ehab Saei el-Din and Mustafa Fatuh during the first hearing of their trial in a Tanta Misdemeanors Court. The two lawyers stand accused of assaulting Tanta Public Prosecutor Basem Abu el-Rus. Before the hearing began, a number of lawyers--including chairmen of local lawyers syndicates--voiced support for their colleagues and demanded they be released from the courtroom prison dock. However, the presiding judge turned down the request and the defendants remained locked up. In the courtroom, a representative of the Lawyer's Syndicate asserted that the accusations against the two men were political in nature and that investigations conducted into the matter had been biased and unprofessional. His statements provoked the anger of the sitting judge. At 2:15 PM, the judge declared that a break would be taken to allow for consultation. At this point, word began to circulate that the judge had exited the courtroom from a backdoor after sentencing the two lawyers to five years in prison with hard labor, in addition to an LE200 fine. Afterwards, a group of lawyers threatened to set the courtroom on fire if the rumors proved to be true. Security personnel immediately learned of the plan to torch the courtroom and formed a security cordon around the court building. Thirty trucks bearing security forces were brought to the town square to preempt possible rioting. Lawyers demonstrating in support of the two defendants carried signs reading, "All lawyers are one body," while chanting slogans such as, "With spirit and blood, we will redeem you." Translated from the Arabic Edition.
