An Egyptian court on Tuesday refused to consider a lawsuit demanding the referral of Judge Ahmed Refaat, president of the Cairo Criminal Court, to a disciplinary board.
Refaat is the presiding judge in the trial of deposed President Hosni Mubarak on charges of corruption and killing demonstrators during the 25 January revolution.
State-owned newspaper Al-Ahram reported that the lawsuit was filed by a lawyer named Mostafa Ghoneim, who said Refaat admitted Mubarak to the courtroom lying on a bed with his feet facing the judges and the lawyers, which he considers an insult.
Ghoneim also said that Refaat allowed Former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly to sit alone on the front bench inside the court cage with his assistant behind him as if he still holds his rank, and that he did not separate the case of demonstrators' deaths from the case of squandering public funds.
The court said it has no jurisdiction to refer judges to disciplinary boards, an issue that is in the hands of the justice minister and not the State Council, which handles disputes between citizens and state institutions.
Mubarak, his sons Alaa and Gamal, and businessman Hussein Salem are being tried before the Cairo Criminal Court on corruption charges, while Mubarak, Adly and six top security officers stand trial for charges of killing demonstrators before the same court. Adly was convicted of money laundering and fraud in May 2011.
