Egyptian judges have once again become the victims of militant attacks.
A judge supervising parliamentary elections was killed and two other judges were wounded following an attack by armed militants in Al-Arish on Tuesday, which was later claimed by Islamic State affiliates in Sinai.
The tragedy is not the first to see judicial figures targeted by militants, with several having taken place since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
In September 2014, unknown assailants shot dead the son of a Cairo Appeals Court judge, Mahmoud al-Sayyed, while he was leaving his home in Mansoura, Daqahlia. The judge was waiting for his son inside his car at the time of the shooting.
In January 2015, three masked attackers attempted to assassinate Youssef Nassef, president of al-Khanka Court in Qalyubiya, on his way to the courtroom. The judge sustained mild injuries from the shooting, which mainly affected his vehicle.
In the same month, Khaled al-Mahgoub, a member at the General Prosecutor’s technical office, was the target of a bombing which exploded inside his Helwan villa, causing its outer walls to sustain damages. Mahgoub, who presided over a jailbreak trial involving Morsi, was not at home at the time of the attack.
Another judge, who was part of the court that acquitted former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly of corruption, was also the target of a bombing attempt in March. A bomb was planted outside the residence of Fathi al-Bayoumi in Awseem, northwest of Cairo, smashing the building’s windows and dislocating its metal gate. “This is our present for Adly’s acquittal,” read phrases painted on the judge’s house that were discovered following the attack.
In May 2015, the Sinai Province, IS’s Egypt arm, claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of three judges in Arish, later posting videos of the operation.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
