Egypt judges slam Morsi power grab
Defiant Egyptian judges hit back at President Mohamed Morsi yesterday demanding he reverse a decree giving himself sweeping powers that put him beyond judicial oversight, after more clashes between police and protesters.
Egypt's Judges Club held emergency talks in Cairo to mull their response to Morsi's "ferocious attack on Egyptian justice," Club chief Ahmed al-Zind told the club's general assembly, as furious judges chanted "The people want the downfall of the regime."
Protesters tried to storm the High Court where the judges were meeting but were dispersed when police fired tear gas.
Earlier, anti-riot police fired tear gas to disperse anti-Morsi protesters camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square as Western governments voiced growing concern over the political crisis.
The Supreme Judicial Council denounced Morsi's constitutional declaration as "an unprecedented attack on the independence of the judiciary and its rulings", while the Judges Club of Alexandria announced "the suspension of work in all courts and prosecution administrations in the provinces of Alexandria and Beheira."
And they "will accept nothing less than the cancellation of (Morsi's decree)," which violates the principle of separation of powers, club chief Mohammed Ezzat al-Agwa said.
The president already held both the executive and legislative powers, and his Thursday decree puts him beyond judicial oversight until a new constitution has been ratified in a referendum.
The measures are valid only until the new constitution now being drafted is adopted, and supporters argue they will hasten what has been a turbulent and seemingly endless transition to democracy.
In Cairo, a statement by some 20 "independent judges" said that while some of the decisions taken by the president were a response to popular demands, they were issued "at the expense of freedom and democracy."
Morsi has ordered the reopening of investigations into the deaths of some 850 protesters during the 2011 uprising, and hundreds more since.
New prosecutor general Talaat Ibrahim Abdallah said new "revolutionary courts" would be set up and could see former president Hosni Mubarak, his sons and his top security chiefs retried "should there be new evidence."
Mubarak and his interior minister were sentenced to life over the killing of protesters in last year's popular uprising against him, but six security chiefs were acquitted in the same case sparking nationwide outrage.
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