CAIRO: The Administrative Court in Cairo decided Tuesday to move hearings into lawsuit calling for the banning of 21 blogs to the Sixth District Court.
Head Judge of the Alexandria Court of Appeals, Abdel Fattah Mourad, had filed a lawsuit early March calling for the banning of 21 blogs and websites charging that they “tarnish the reputation of Egypt and the Egyptian President .
Mourad is urging authorities to force the discontinuation of websites and blogs belonging to prominent Egyptian human rights organizations and activists, including blog Bent Masreya, Iraq News Agency, and National Opposition Movement among many others.
He has also called for shutting down the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo) website.
“This is simply an attempt to draw attention away from the real case, namely Judge Mourad’s illegal copying and inclusion of an HRInfo’s report into his book that he sells for profit, Gamal Eid, Director of HRInfo, stated.
Eid had accused Mourad of copyright infringement in early February.
Sources have told The Daily Star Egypt that scuffles broke out between Mourad and blogger Rami Siyam after the court session when the latter attempted to film the judge’s exit from the courtroom.
“The judge, who showed up today in the company of at least three bodyguards, failed to take the mobile phone from Rami, who chased him with his mobile as the judge was leaving the building, blogger and journalist Hossam El Hamalawy reported on his blog arabawy.org.
