With continuing strikes and protests against the five-year prison sentence handed down to two lawyers–Ehab Saei el-Din and Mustafa Fatuh, convicted of assaulting Tanta Public Prosecutor Bassem Abu el-Rus–tensions have grown. Al-Masry Al-Youm hit the streets of Cairo to ask: Who’s to blame for the current crisis between judges and lawyers?
Yasser Mohamed, engineer: “Staging demonstrations and sit-in protests will lead nowhere. Strikes have negatively affected Egyptians who have nothing to do with the problem. Courts have been paralyzed and hundreds of cases postponed. Lawyers must end their strike and look for an alternative forum for their dispute. I think lawyers want the matter to escalate, refusing to meet with the district attorney to discuss their demands. Both parties must agree on reconciliation, especially after Speaker of Parliament Fathi Sorour’s intervention to ease the tension, which, hopefully, will make a difference.”
Mohamed Farag, pharmacist: “The media always tends to exaggerate issues. The case of the prosecutor and the two lawyers has monopolized newspaper headlines for days. They are covering the issue more than they should, which has helped stir up public opinion and incite violence.”
Mohsen el-Saeed, banker: “I’m disappointed that the relationship between lawyers and judges has deteriorated to this extent. Certainly, the problem won’t be solved through protests and violence. Both parties should come to a compromise–especially because together they shape Egypt’s judiciary system.”
Abdel Rahman Ragab, supermarket owner: “The blame should be laid on the severity of the prosecution’s verdict. To impose the maximum penalty–a five-year prison sentence–was a very harsh decision, which, unsurprisingly, incited people’s anger. I hope the verdict will be quashed or minimized on appeal to avoid further conflict.”
Ahmed Abbas, student: “Lawyers are entitled to protest the verdict. I think that it was an unfair trial and that judicial officials abused their authority to side with their colleagues at the expense of lawyers’ rights. It is well known that most prosecutors degrade and mistreat lawyers, which may be what provoked public opinion. Lawyers found a good opportunity here to take personal revenge on them.”
Sarah Yousry, tourism company employee: “It’s strange that the case began as a personal issue, then suddenly involved all lawyers and prosecutors. Both should work hand-in-hand to confront the difficulties they face, because the two sides are supposed to compliment one another.”
