Egypt judge arrested for participating in 'illegal protest'

Ahram Online , Monday 30 Mar 2015

The head of the Cairo Appeal Court and former governor of Qaliyoubiya is to be investigated for participating in an alleged Muslim Brotherhood protest

Hisham Barakat
Egypt؛s general prosecutor Hisham Barakat (Photo: Al-Ahram)

Egypt's prosecutor-general on Monday ordered the arrest of a former Qalioubiya governor and judge, pending investigations into his participation in an illegal protest, the Ahram Arabic news website reported.

The head of the Cairo Appeal Court, Hassan El-Naggar, on Monday participated in a protest allegedly led by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Nasr City district of east Cairo.

El-Naggar will be jailed for 15 days pending investigations, according to the prosecutor-general's order.

Police forces also arrested a number of alleged Brotherhood members for participating in the protest, which is illegal according to a law passed in 2013 that requires that authorities be notified three working days prior to a public meeting.  

The disciplinary committee of the Supreme Judicial Council has retired El-Naggar along with a number of other members of the judiciary for being engaged in politics and for advocating for the Muslim Brotherhood.

In December 2013, Egypt's government designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a "terrorist group".

In February, the president issued a new law to define "terrorist entities", according to which any person described as a "terrorist" in a court order will be added to a "terrorist list."

Egyptians included on the terrorist list can be banned from travel, can have their bank accounts frozen if used to fund terrorism, and can be prevented from public employment or political representation.

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