CAIRO: After the Higher Judicial Council's decision to suspend investigations in media declarations regarding competencies of the military jurisdiction, Judge Hassan al-Nagar said that such a decision reflects the council's support for the independence of the judiciary. "The decision is a victory for judicial independence," he said. Al-Nagar was one of the judges referred to investigations after making comments about Egypt's ruling military council. He said declarations by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and the Minister of Justice are considered as apologies to the judges. Investigations have been suspended because “there was no evidence to condemn us on,” said al-Nagar. The chairman of Giza's Criminal Court, Judge Alaa Shawky, said it was a wise decision. Shawky also said it was necessary to transfer judicial inspection and all technical judicial affairs to the supervision of the Higher Judicial Council. He said the statement issued by the council showed insistence on maintaining judicial customs. Shawky criticized the situation of the Judges' Club, describing it as "unjustified." He said the club's board of directors announced that they will hold consultations to solve the crisis, but never actually did. While Shawky supported the stance the club took, he described the situation as a crisis for all of Egypt's judges. He expressed his appreciation of the military trials and said they are an important part of jurisdiction. The club's secretary, Judge Abdullah Fathy, said the club took necessary steps to solve the crisis of the two judges and played an important role in stopping the crisis from growing. He stressed the club's support for the two judges and praised the decision of the Higher Judicial Council to end the crisis. Judge Hisham Raouf, chairman of Shubra al-Khayma Criminal Court, said he appreciated the decision which reflects how the council respects judicial law when investigating with judges. He added that he hoped the statement issued by the Higher Judicial Council was clear in supporting the freedom of judges to express their opinions. Judge Zakria Abdel Aziz, former head of the Judges' Club, said the crisis was caused when the Minister of Justice signed a complaint to the military prosecutor without realizing the repercussions of such a step. Abdel Aziz said the Minister of Justice contradicted himself. He mentioned his declarations that supported judicial independence and promised to transfer judicial inspection to the Higher Judicial Council, along with how he had accepted referring two judges to investigations. Arabic a href=http://www.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=433976&SecID=12&IssueID=0 _self'here
