Prosecutors have asked Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council to lift judicial immunity from Egyptian Judges Club head Ahmed El-Zend so that the latter might be investigated on charges that he had encouraged foreign interference in Egypt's affairs.

At a press conference earlier this month, El-Zend voiced his surprise that the US "hasn't done anything concerning flagrant encroachments on Egypt's judiciary" by the presidency.

El-Zend's statements, which many critics interpreted as a call for US intervention in Egyptian domestic politics, drew fierce criticism from certain quarters.

On 19 April, the Muslim Brotherhood organised a Friday rally to demand the 'purge' of Egypt's judiciary of Mubarak-era elements.

The move came within the context of a months-long standoff between the presidency and Islamist forces on one hand and certain elements of Egypt's judiciary on the other.