(Photo by Ahmed Al-Malky)
The Court of Cassation ruled on Tuesday to reinstate former Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud.
According to article 23 of the judiciary law, Assistant Prosecutor General Hassan Yassin is still currently the acting Prosecutor General, according to a statement by the spokesman for the prosecution.
State-run MENA reported that the court rejected an appeal by Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah against a March court ruling which overturned his appointment.
Mahmoud held a press conference in the Judges’ Club hours after the Cassation Court’s ruling, in which he promised the Egyptian people that he would not “give up their rights.”
Abdallah was appointed as Prosecutor General in November 2012 by President Mohamed Morsi, following the November constitutional declaration which dismissed Mubarak-era Mahmoud.
On 27 March, the Cairo Court of Appeals overturned Morsi’s dismissal of Mahmoud and subsequent appointment of Abdallah. The court did not, however, specify how and when the verdict should be carried out.
The Tuesday decision also rejected an appeal by the State Litigation Authority (SLA), the government’s legal representative as well as a separate appeal by Mahmoud against the constitutional declaration.
Morsi first attempted to dismiss Mahmoud last October, one day after a court acquitted all accused of involvement in the deadly violence witnessed in Tahrir Square known as the Camel Battle on 2 February 2011.
Morsi issued a decree appointing Mahmoud as envoy to the Vatican on 11 October. Mahmoud refused the decision, and asserted that the president did not have the authority to remove him, and remained in the post.
On 22 November, Morsi made his second and successful attempt in removing Mahmoud through the constitutional declaration, which stated that the post of Prosecutor General was to be appointed by the president for a four-year term.
Mahmoud submitted two requests to the court for an executive report detailing how the ruling to restore him to office should be carried out.
On 25 June, the Court of Cassation set 2 July as the date to view all appeals filed by Mahmoud, Abdallah and the SLA.
The appointment and dismissal sparked controversy and questions on the legality of the decision. Opposition blocs and the National Salvation Front (NSF) repeatedly demanded the dismissal of Abdallah.
In a meeting that brought the NSF and the Salafi Al-Nour Party together last January, the two agreed that a new prosecutor general should be appointed.
In response to Tuesday’s court ruling, the official spokesman of the prosecution said in a statement: “Talaat Abdallah respects the rulings of the judiciary and that he only accepted this position to uphold the public interest.” The statement added that the prosecution will carry out its work normally across the country.
“The prosecution announces that it is an institution that works within the framework of the law and it cannot stop working under any circumstances,” the statement read.
