Several questions remain about last week's decision to lift a travel ban on defendants in the trial of foreign-funded NGO members, said Speaker of Parliament Saad al-Katatny. At the beginning of a joint meeting of both chambers of parliament on Saturday, Katatny asked, "How could the US plane arrive before the decision to lift the ban on the defendants was made? Why has an urgent probe not been launched into why the judges presiding over the case bowed out and into the circumstances surrounding the departure of the suspects?" Katatny added that preserving Egypt's internal security is an overriding priority that should remain untouched, adding that any form of intervention into Egyptian affairs is unacceptable. He also said that the NGOs case cannot be put to an end by a "political decision" under any circumstances. Any entity other than the judiciary has no right to intervene in it, he added. "The People's Assembly will use all tools and mechanisms to hold those responsible for this crime that constitutes a flagrant intervention in the affairs of the judiciary accountable... We will punish those responsible for it no matter what their positions or ranks are." He added that the People's Assembly will call for a special session on the 11 March to listen to the opinions of the prime minister and other relevant ministers on the matter. “Egypt will not kneel down and will not accept any form of political blackmail,” he said.
