EGX kicks off week higher on August 17    EGP inches down vs. USD at Sunday's trading close    EGX launches 1st phone app    Egypt achieves record primary budget surplus of EGP 629bn despite sharp fall in Suez Canal revenues    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Resumption of production at El Nasr marks strategic step towards localising automotive industry: El-Shimy    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    United Bank achieves EGP 1.51bn net profit in H1 2025, up 26.9% year-on-year    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, bilateral ties in calls with Saudi, South African counterparts    Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt, Colombia discuss medical support for Palestinians injured in Gaza    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Egypt Warned Amal Clooney She Risked Arrest
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 03 - 01 - 2015

Egyptian officials warned human rights barrister Amal Clooney that she risked arrest after identifying the same serious flaws in its judicial system that subsequently contributed to the conviction of three al-Jazeera journalists now jailed in Cairo.
In an interview with the Guardian after their appeal hearing this week, Clooney, a lawyer for one of the trio, said they were victims of the same flaws that she earmarked in a February 2014 report about Egyptian courts.
Written before Clooney became involved in the al-Jazeera case, officials deemed the report so controversial that they threatened her team with arrest should they have tried to present its findings inside Egypt.
"When I went to launch the report, first of all they stopped us from doing it in Cairo," Clooney told the Guardian. "They said: ‘Does the report criticise the army, the judiciary, or the government?' We said: ‘Well, yes.' They said: ‘Well then, you're risking arrest.'"
The report, compiled on behalf of the International Bar Association, said Egypt's judicial system was not as independent as it could be. It pointed out that officials in the ministry of justice have wide powers over nominally independent judges, and highlighted the control the government can exert over state prosecutors.
Among other recommendations, Clooney and her co-authors suggested ending the practice that allows Egyptian officials to handpick judges for certain politicised cases. "That recommendation wasn't followed, and we've seen the results of that in this particular case where you had a handpicked panel led by a judge who is known for dispensing brutal verdicts," Clooney. said "And this one was no different."
The three journalists – Peter Greste, Baher Mohamed, and Mohamed Fahmy, whom Clooney represents – were initially sentenced to between seven and 10 years in jail last June by the controversial Egyptian judge Mohamed Nagy Shehata.
Shehata became notorious during the trial for rarely taking off his aviator sunglasses, mocking Fahmy's fiancee, and for cracking a joke about World Press Freedom day. A few months later, he also sentenced to death 188 people, Clooney said, "in one mass trial which didn't distinguish between each defendant's criminal responsibility". Shehata failed to respond to several requests for interview.
At the trio's appeal on New Year's Day, a new judge refused to throw out the case, but agreed to a retrial, after recognising problems with the initial process. But Clooney fears those flaws – which included the presentation of a Gotye song, footage of a trotting horse, and pictures of Greste's parents as evidence of the trio's guilt – are so serious that they will compromise the integrity of any second hearing.
"If the idea is: well, there were errors and now there's going to be a retrial, but then the retrial operates on the same basis as the original one, that doesn't really mean much," Clooney said. She has waived most of her usual fees, and is paid directly by Fahmy without the support of al-Jazeera. "I don't see how the prosecution can proceed again in a trial process even if the judges were to be constituted properly this time around. I don't see how they could fix the lack of evidence."
As a result, Clooney has concluded "that we have to continue and double our efforts to achieve his release in other ways. Unfortunately we have to conclude that we can't rely on these Egyptian court processes to achieve a fair or swift result."
For Baher Mohamed, the third detainee who holds only an Egyptian passport, his fate largely depends on those court processes, with the prospect of a presidential pardon dwindling. But Clooney's client, Fahmy, a Canadian citizen, and his Australian colleague Greste, have another option: deportation to their home countries.
Fahmy and Greste have applied to Egypt's chief prosecutor to demand they be sent to Canada and Australia respectively under the terms of a new presidential decree that provides foreign detainees with such a route, and which seems to have been tailored for their case.
The vague and unprecedented nature of the decree has led to doubts about how it would be used in practice. But based on her communication with relevant officials in Egypt and Canada, and on her experience of international law, Clooney is hopeful that deportation is a real option. "There are many different ways in which the transfer from Egypt to Canada can occur, and as long as there is a genuine commitment on both sides, I see no reason why a transfer can't happen in fairly quick terms."
Inside Egypt, Fahmy's appeals team was led by an Egyptian lawyer, Negad Boraie, with contributions from Clooney that related to international law. But outside Egypt, it is Clooney who is spearheading attempts to secure Fahmy's deportation, and hopes next week to meet the Canadian foreign minister, John Baird, to try to convince him to expedite the process.
"We are very much hoping that the Canadian and Egyptian officials we have contacted will engage with us fully to ensure that Mohamed is involved – through his counsel – in the discussions and that a fair outcome can be achieved as soon as possible."
Source: The Guardian


Clic here to read the story from its source.