(Photo by: Rana Taha)
Hundreds rallied outside the High Court building Monday evening condemning the amendments to the Judiciary Law currently under review by the Shura Council.
Judges started an open-ended sit-in on Friday demanding that the upper house of parliament refrain from discussing the controversial amendments.
Protesters held up signs voicing their solidarity with the judges, some of which carried photos of former presidents Anwar Al-Sadat and Gamal Abdel Nasser. They chanted in support of the military and the judges, applauding Ahmed Al-Zind, head of the Judges’ Club, for managing to “provoke” the current regime.
Ibrahim Maaroof, a protester from Menufiya, said he had joined the protest in order to topple President Mohamed Morsi’s regime.
“Morsi’s a traitor and an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Mossad,” Maaroof said. “He cut off the electricity and Egypt’s water supply.”
Maaroof added that the “people, the military, the judiciary and the police are all one” until Morsi is brought down.
Protestors rallying outside of the High Court building made attempts at entry, but Central Security Forces had chained the gates and cordoned off the building. No one was allowed inside.
An hour after the scheduled time for their protest, the judges appeared on the stairs of the High Court building.
Some protesters held signs of the Al-Wafd Party, including Maaroof, who denied being a party member.
The protest was interrupted by controversial television presenter Tawfiq Okasha, who was met with ardent welcome and cheers by the rallying protesters.
The judges’ predicament started in April when the Shura Council’s Committee on Constitutional and Legislative Affairs approved three proposals for amendments to the Judiciary Law for discussion in plenary. In response, the Judges’ Club was quick to say that it will treat the proposed amendments as if they did not exist.
