CAIRO: The Hisham Mubarak Law Center, an Egyptian NGO which monitors legal violations, held a mock "public trial on Sunday for steel mogul and MP Ahmed Ezz, head of the logistics committee of the ruling National Democratic Party. The trial, which lasted one hour, was staged at center's Downtown headquarters. The trial's panel of judges was headed by MP Salah Sadek, a law professor, lawyer Al-Sayed Abdel Ghany, and engineer Yehia Hussein, member of the "No to Selling Egypt movement. The trial's Attorney General was Saad Aboud, an MP affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood group. Before the trial began, Hussein announced his withdrawal from the panel citing "a personal dispute with Ezz which might render his judgment too subjective. Despite being notified of the event, Ezz neither attended the trial nor sent a lawyer to represent him. He was charged with "monopolizing more than 70 percent of the steel market in Egypt, which he acquired through his government connections, Mahmoud Askalany, head of a Hisham Mubarak Center committee to fight rising prices told Daily News Egypt. "Ezz himself admitted that he had increased steel prices in 2007 despite the fact that there was no increase in actual costs, a fact that was documented in Ezz Steel's general committee meeting of Sept. 9, 2007, Askalany added. The trial was adjourned till March 15, to give Ezz another chance to either attend or send a lawyer. "However, if Ezz doesn't show up in the coming session, the court will assign a lawyer on his behalf, Askalany said. According to Gamal Eid, chairman of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, mock public trials are meant to try those who were not found guilty in a real court "either because there was not enough evidence to condemn them or due to some legal loopholes. Eid further added that such public trials are done in all countries, and although they have no material consequences, "they are highly valued because they trigger public debate and raise awareness of issues that may have not been within the reach of the law. Askalany believes that Ezz's public trial may uncover new evidence that would enable the case to be heard in a real court. The Hisham Mubarak Law Center was created in 1999 in memory of the late lawyer Hisham Mubarak, who had made it his mission since year 1994 to establish an NGO that provides legal assessments to victims of human rights violations.
