TANTA-An Egyptian court in this Nile Delta started on Sunday hearing an appeal from two lawyers sentenced to five years in prison for assaulting a prosecutor. Hundreds of lawyers have gathered outside the court building to express solidarity with their two colleagues whose jailing has sparked a sharp crisis between Egypt's lawyers and judges. They chanted slogans calling for the release of the two lawyers. The session is being held amid tight security. The two lawyers, Ehab Saa'i and Moustafa Fattouh, were sentenced to jail for assaulting prosecutor Basem Abul Roos. During their appeal session more than two weeks ago, the chief judge deferred their lawsuit to July 4, and rejected their request for release. Around 359 lawyers in black robes held a protest outside the Heliopolis Court in Cairo Saturday in solidarity with their detained colleagues. "We are waiting for the decision of the court to see what our next step will be," said Hani Fahmi, one of the protesting lawyers. An administrative court in Tanta, meanwhile, deferred a case calling for dropping the charges against the detained lawyers, on the grounds that the assaulted judge and police officers were not included in the referral decree.
