Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Thousands of Egyptian judges last night invaded the square before the High Court in Cairo to demand the end of the rule of the Islamist Justice and protest against the early retirement of more than 13 thousand officials.
The demonstration was organized by the Egyptian Judges Club, a union collects about 90% of Egyptian judges. It comes after the verdict issued in recent days by the Egyptian Constitutional Court which has judged the laws that govern the Shura Council (parliament), dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood unconstitutional, thus rendering void the controversial proposed laws made in recent years, such as the 'attribution of extraordinary powers to president Morsi and the ability of the same to appoint key officials of the Egyptian judicial system.
In recent months the government and President Mohammed Morsi have defended the draft law on lowering the retirement age of civil servants as an attempt to eliminate the judges loyal to the regime of Mubarak. However, according to leaders of the protest the move would allow the Muslim Brotherhood to place only judges related to the movement within the courts in order to stem the loss of support among the population.
Since Mohammed Morsi's rise to power sentences for blasphemy and offense to the president have increased. Recently, Ahmed Duma, an activist, was sentenced to six months in prison for criticizing President Morsi on social networks. Another example of the gradual Islamization of the justice system is the case of Dimyana Ubeid Abdel al-Nour, a Christian teacher on trial for insulting Islam and Muhammad during a lesson. The woman has always declared herself innocent. In her history lesson she had spoken of her respect for the Orthodox Coptic Patriarch Shenouda III.