Mostafa Doweidar, spokesperson for the Public Prosecution, has said that the ruling by the Cairo Appeals Court reinstating former Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud and annulling current Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah’s appointment Wednesday was a move to create “media hype.”
In statements Wednesday, Doweidar said that the State Lawsuits Authority could challenge the ruling.
Hassan Yassin, head of the technical office for the Public Prosecution, said Abdallah is staying in his position supported by the new constitution.
In statements to Anadolu news agency, he said that the Constitution stipulates the prosecutor general’s mandate as being a non-renewable four years, adding that Mahmoud completed more than one mandate.
Yassin also said, without adding detail, that there were several loopholes that could potentially be used to challenge the ruling.
The ruling came after the court reviewed five cases challenging President Mohamed Morsy’s decision to remove Mahmoud, but the ruling is not final, as it can be challenged before the Court of Cassation.
Gamal Gibril, a professor of constitutional law and a member of the Constituent Assembly who is close to the Muslim Brotherhood, said the decision “is embarrassing to the presidency.”
In statements to Al-Shorouk’s online portal, Gibril said on Wednesday, “From a legal perspective, there are two points. First, the Judicial Power Law bans the removal of any member of the Public Prosecution. Second, there is the Constitution which is clear: Article 227 of the Egyptian Constitution states that the Constitution or the law stipulates a certain non-renewable mandate for every position, and this mandate starts from the date the person is appointed and ends when the person reaches the legal age for retirement.”
Meanwhile, Amr Hamzawy, a member of the National Salvation Front, said on Twitter that the decision is fresh evidence for the need to complete cancel Morsy’s November constitutional declaration.
