DSE: Judges receive worldwide support

By Pakinam Amer
First Published: May 15, 2006

CAIRO: Last week, protesters raised their voices in the United States; now the wave of protests in support of Egypt’s prosecuted judges has reached the British capital.

More than 50 Egyptians, English and European civil society members and activists assembled in Mayfair, London to protest what they deemed a blow to the independent judicial system.

“We are already very active in the London social, political and cultural scene, and we wanted to make sure our voice is heard when it comes to supporting our national cause,” says Ahmed Zahran, one Egyptian protestor. According to Zahran, the protest attracted Egyptian doctors, professors, journalists, young professionals and students who are living either permanently or temporarily in London, in addition to English activists.

The wave of protests was triggered when Egyptian police used violence in dispersing pro-reform activists protesting in support of two judges, Mahmoud Mekki and Hisham Al-Batawisy, last week. The two deputies of the cassation court were given disciplinary hearings for outlining what they had called “scam” and “thuggery” during last year’s presidential elections, and for allegedly leaking information to the press.

Over the past two weeks, Egyptian police have detained around 300 political activists including members of the Kefaya (Enough) movement and El-Ghad party, as well as two journalists.

Shortly after the detained were transferred to Tora Mazraa Prison near Cairo, 40 of them went on a hunger strike to protest their pre-trial prison conditions. In conflict with international prisoner rights laws, the activists were imprisoned in cells alongside convicted criminals. The detainees, who remain in custody, are charged with illegal assembly, creating public disorder, insulting the Egyptian president and blocking traffic in the downtown area.

The London protest included speeches by Egyptian participants and was covered by international networks. The speeches addressed what the protestors deemed the dangers of the government’s strategy and its crackdown on democratic voices, as well as the importance of activism and the participation of Egyptians living abroad in supporting their cause.

The protestors also talked about what they saw as “the general prejudice and suspicion that surrounds any activities by Egyptians abroad.” One speaker commented how “we should participate in our country's politics … as we have the right to do so.”

Some chanted: “Down … Down with Mubarak” as they held banners and signs criticizing the government, calling for democracy and demanding the immediate release of all political detainees. Others sang the national anthem.

Among the protestors were representatives from movements such as Stop the War Coalition UK, who has recently sent representatives to the press syndicate’s annual Cairo conference, and Egyptians who have been living in exile in London.

Among the protestors was Kamal El-Hilbawy, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood and founder of Save Egypt Front, a Web site that constitutes an opposition front in London against the Egyptian government. In his online columns, El-Hilbawy has often condemned the Egyptian government; in a recent column he passionately praised politician Osama El-Ghazali Harb for resigning from the National Democratic Party.

Meanwhile and in response to the use of violence, the Ministry of Interior in Egypt issued a statement justifying the presence of thousands of security units and riot police amid the protests.

The ministry said the forces were deployed outside the Supreme Court to protect the integrity of the court session and to guard the event as the judges were tried. The ministry also said that the presence of such forces was essential to guarantee safety and to disperse flocks of people who - according to the statement - have illegally gathered and who have demonstrated without prior permission from the state security.

As a result of police violence, the court session was interrupted and thus postponed.

Link: http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1509