Egypt's judges should 'eschew politics'

Egypt’s Justice Minister, Ahmed Mekki, has criticised calls to dismiss the country’s Prosecutor General, Talaat Abdallah, after the Court of Cassation accepted an appeal from former President Hosni Mubarak, who is facing life imprisonment for the killing of protestors during the January 25 Revolution. Speaking with the al-Hayat network, Mekki said: "No-one on the face of the earth has the power to dismiss the Prosecutor General. The decision to keep or leave his post will always remain his.” "The independence of the judiciary will not come until judges eschew politics," the Justice Minister added, explaining that a perceived crisis between Egypt's judicial and executive branches had emanated from the exploitation of judicial independence by “some political camps.” Mekki added that he agreed with calls from the heads of Egypt’s judicial organisations [known as “Judges' Clubs”] that prosecutors should return to work. Judges’ Club leaders meanwhile agreed to appoint Judge Abdel Sattar Imam, the head of the al-Minufiya club, as well as a representative of the Judges' Club board, to meet with the Supreme Judicial Council for discussions concerning the crisis surrounding Prosecutor General, Talaat Abdallah. “No pressure should be exerted on Abdallah to force him to resign,” Mekki reiterated.