President Mohamed Morsi has not asked the State Litigation Authority (SLA) to appeal the court verdict overturning Prosecutor General Tala'at Abdallah's appointment. SLA Assistant Secretary General Abdel Salam Mahmoud said on Monday that no presidency officials had requested an appeal and that no one had the right to appeal but the authority itself, which is an independent judicial body. “The verdict is still under review by the technical office of the State Litigation Authority. We will announce it ourselves when we come to a decision regarding whether or not to appeal," Mahmoud said in a statement. Former prosecutor general Abdel Meguid Mahmoud officially requested the Cairo Court of Appeals, which ruled to reinstate him and reversed Abdallah's appointment, draft a verdict application report describing how exactly the court envisions its verdict should be carried out, and attach it to the official verdict memo. The court refused Mahmoud's request, however, but he has decided to appeal the refusal, state-owned news agency MENA reported on Monday. Meanwhile, Abdallah denied on Sunday night claims that he had delegated his authority as prosecutor general to Assistant Prosecutor General Hassan Yassin in order to uphold the Cairo Court of Appeals verdict reversing his appointment. “Prosecutor General Tala'at Abdallah is performing his full duties and everything at the public prosecution is functioning properly," his spokesperson said in a statement released on Sunday night. Abdallah received a delegation of lawyers displaying their support for him on Sunday evening, including Salafi lawyer and former member of parliament Mamdouh Ismail. “I will not fail you, I will not fail the Egyptian people, and I will not stray from the path of the law," Abdallah told his supporters. Ismail told Abdallah that “responsibility for Egypt lies in [his] hands", and that he need not give in to political pressures because “God is with you".
