JURIST - Paper Chase: Egypt judges demonstrate against interrogation of colleagues after elections criticism

[JURIST] Members of the professional association of Egyptian jurists known as The Judges Club demonstrated in Cairo Friday, calling for greater judicial independence in Egypt [JURIST news archive] and denouncing the government's order to interrogate six judges who were stripped of judicial immunity [JURIST report] after speaking out against December parliamentary election results [JURIST report] they claimed were tainted by fraud. About 1,000 demonstrators, including the judges and their supporters, took part in a silent protest that preceded a general assembly meeting of The Judges Club intended to address the concerns. At the meeting, the judges agreed to support their colleagues' decision to reject the government's interrogation order requiring them to appear before prosecutors.

Under Article 88 of the Egyptian Constitution [text], elections must be judicially supervised. Egyptian judges have been pressing for greater independence [PDF backgrounder] for years, and have used the occasion of recent presidential and parliamentary elections to press their case through boycotts and criticism. AP has more.

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