CAIRO - The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) Saturday suspended its probe of two judges, who spoke out against the courts martial of civilians, after they expressed 'full respect for the military judiciary', the SJC said in a statement after a meeting on Saturday. It added that the probe was cancelled after the judges, Alaa Shawqi and Hussein el-Naggar, were found to have 'good intentions'. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had filed a report with Minister of Justice Mohamed Abdel-Aziz el-Guindi against the two judges, accusing them of libelling the military judiciary. El-Guindi then referred them to an internal investigation board which submitted a report to the SJC. "The decision to suspend the investigations is meant to maintain the respect, dignity and independence of the judiciary," the statement also stressed. The judges, in media interviews, criticised the military for not transferring civilians to criminal courts, saying the military tribunals do not guarantee the rights that the civilian courts provide for these civilians. Egyptian rights groups estimate that the military has conducted more than 10,000 such trials since it took over the country after Hosni Mubarak resigned in February. Activists say that civilian courts are equipped to deal with criminal cases, pointing out that former regime officials are all being tried in civilian courts.
