Egypt: attorneys strike to protest the imprisonment of six colleagues

The Egyptian Bar Affiliation introduced Thursday an “indefinite” strike to protest the imprisonment of six colleagues for a brawl with clerks earlier this month.

“We instantly droop all our actions, we are going to cease showing in court docket and collaborating within the investigations of the prosecution from January 19 and for an infinite interval,” the attorneys introduced on their union’s web site.

On Wednesday, the felony court docket of Marsa Matrouh (north-west) sentenced six attorneys to 2 years in jail following a brawl between them and three court docket clerks within the coastal metropolis on January 5, in accordance with the state-owned each day al-Ahram.

The Egyptian attorneys imagine that there was “a transparent intention to maintain their colleagues in custody with out actual justification” and denounce a “rush to deliver them to trial with out taking the time to conduct an actual investigation”, in accordance with the assertion of their union.

The attorneys of the six convicts have appealed the choice and the court docket is anticipated to contemplate their request on Sunday.

In December, hundreds of Egyptian attorneys demonstrated exterior their union’s headquarters in central Cairo – an uncommon prevalence in a rustic the place public demonstrations are banned – to protest a brand new digital billing system launched by the Ministry of Finance.