Egyptian judges seek independence
Egypt, Politics, 4/27/2006

The struggle to have an independent judicial system in Egypt is intensifying, with the organization "Judges Club" at the center stage of an apparent efforts by some members to break away from what they say is the government's control and influence over the judiciary.

Commenting on this subject, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday in an interview with al-Gomhuriya newspaper, Mubarak said that the judges are having "internal differences" and neither the government nor the state has anything to do with the differences between the Judges' Club and the Supreme Justice council."

"I've always made it a rule never to interfere in the affairs of the judiciary," he said. Mubarak asserted his respect for the independence of the judiciary. "What is going on makes me feel sad," Mubarak said, voicing hope that judges would settle their differences on their own.

"Talk about a massacre of judges is rejected out of hand. Judges' status must always be respected," he said.

Ealier this week, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said that more than 2000 of the state security and police forces attacked and assaulted protestors - who were sitting-in in solidarity with the judges' struggle for a new law that guarantees judiciary independence in Egypt - near the Judges' Club headquarter, without giving them time to break up the sit-in peacefully. Moreover, the state security forces arrested Mahmoud Hamza (Judge), while he was standing in front of the club door attempting to take photos. Hamza was subjected to a brutal assault for an hour and a half; then he was thrown down on the street.

13 citizens have been arrested in the breaking up, including two university professors, who have been released after being subjected to physical abuse, while the rest of them are still in detention. Eyewitnesses state that citizens were assaulted during the break up of the sit- in; while they were in the police vans; and also in the downtown.

"This crime is an obvious indication of the extent to which the security bodies' brutality has reached in dealing with freedom of expression in Egypt. It is a remarkable episode in the ongoing series of violations committed against Egyptian citizens and activists. Such series has been prolonged enough to reach the judges as well," said Gamal Eid, Arabic Network for Human Rights Information's executive director.

The Judges are seeking independence from the government's ministry of Justice, and a New York Times report noted that today "Thousands of Egyptian police sealed off the area around the High Court in central Cairo on Thursday as two judges appeared before a disciplinary committee to face questioning about their criticism of the government. The intense security measures, designed to prevent demonstrations in solidarity with the judges, brought traffic to a standstill in many central parts of the crowded capital."

The report noted that "Judges say the ministry has used its control of salaries, bonuses and disciplinary proceedings to influence judges."

Previous Stories:
  Zakaria Abdul Aziz wins Egypt judges presidency   (12/17/2005)
  Objections of judges to Egyptian elections   (12/2/2005)
  Egypt's judges promise to facilitate voting in the third phase of elections   (11/29/2005)
  Egyptian judges may be punished for speaking on election process   (11/28/2005)

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