CAIRO (Updated) - Judges' Club, Egypt's judicial Thursday dismissed, as baseless reports that its head Ahmed el-Zind had forwarded an official apology to Minister of Justice Mohamed Abdel Aziz el-Guindi over remarks made by three judges who spoke to the media without permission as controversial investigations with trio continued on Thursday. "No apology was forwarded. These reports are baseless. A meeting of the Judge's Club board on Saturday (tomorrow) is allocated for discussing the action that might be taken," said Alaa Qandil, the deputy secretary general of the union. The Justice Ministry's Investigation Panel is probing judges Hassan el-Naggar, Alaa Shawqi and Ashraf Nada for speaking out against military trials of civilians in media outlets without permission. "Yes, the minister of justice has the authority to refer judges to investigation. However, this needs to be changed," said Qandil. The three judges, in media interviews, criticised transferring civilians to courts, saying such tribunals did not guarantee the rights that were provided by civilian courts. The justice minister ordered the investigation because the trio had not obtained permission to speak to the media. The judges say they do not need such permission, Egyptian rights groups estimate that the military has conducted more than 10,000 such trials since it took over the country after a revolt ousted president Hosni Mubarak in February. The revolt led to a security vacuum, with police installations set ablaze during the protests, and widespread fears of an increase in crime after thousands of prisoners escaped from jails. But rights activists say the civilian courts are equipped to deal with criminal cases and point to the trials of former regime officials, which are all conducted by civilian courts. The military, widely popular during the revolt for not siding with Mubarak, has come under intense criticism for alleged abuses and reportedly forcing women, detained in a protest, to undergo virginity tests. It has also been accused of intimidating the media by summoning several reporters who criticised it. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that Washington was concerned by the reports of a crackdown on journalists and judges. "We are disturbed by the reports of efforts to crack down on journalists, and bloggers and judges and others," she told reporters. The military has denied the alleged abuses.
