Abdel Moez Ibrahim, president of the Cairo Court of Appeal, said in a statement to Egyptian state television on Thursday that he asked the head judge presiding over the trial of foreigners and Egyptians working at civil society organizations, who are accused of receiving illegal funding, to step down from the case because his son works at a law firm that has a relationship with the US Embassy.
There are 43 NGO employees being tried in the case, including 16 Americans. At its first session on 26 February, the court adjourned until 26 April.
“The judges postponed the case, which means no ruling would be issued this year, as the judicial year ends on 30 June,” Ibrahim said.
Judge Mohamed Shoukry, president of the North Cairo Criminal Court that is hearing the case, had denied that he stepped down for political or personal reasons.
“The law firm where my son works has nothing to do with the embassy,” he said, adding that he stepped down due to pressures exerted on him that he would divulge in a memo to the Supreme Judicial Council.
Ahmed Kamal Abul Maged, head of the law firm in question, criticized Ibrahim for his statement. “He did not clarify the relationship between the firm and the embassy, which may be construed wrongly,” he said.
Meanwhile, the independent Al-Tahrir newspaper quoted Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Fayza Abouelnaga as saying the case will continue, and judicial sources as saying on Thursday that it would be assigned to another court.
Mostafa Bakry, an independent MP, submitted a motion to Parliament Speaker Saad al-Katatny inquiring about the reasons that pushed Shoukry to step aside from the case according to the state-owned news agency MENA.
Bakry told MENA Thursday that he acquired information saying that pressure was mounted on the court panel to lift the travel ban on the defendants.
Bakry requested Justice Minister Adel Abdel Hamid be present in an urgent session to clarify the facts and reasons behind the court’s decision. Bakry requested that Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri and Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr also attend the session to clarify the “the extension of US intervention in Egypt’s affairs.”
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
