Mona El-Nahhas reports on the on-going controversy surrounding the disciplinary action taken against two leading pro-reform judges Hesham Bastawissi, one of the two pro- reform judges whose controversial trial was due to resume today at the Court of Cassation, was admitted to hospital yesterday following a heart attack. It is not clear whether the Court of Cassation will continue to hear the case against Bastawissi and Mahmoud Mekki, both of whom are charged with bringing the judiciary into disrepute after allegedly identifying fellow judges who they claimed had colluded with the authorities in falsifying the results of last year's parliamentary elections. The Court of Cassation will, however, begin the first hearing of the appeal submitted by Ghad Party Leader Ayman Nour following the verdict of a criminal court in December which sentenced him to five years in prison. Last Thursday demonstrations in support of the two judges erupted into violent clashes as baton wielding security forces attempted to disperse protesters, scenes many expect to be repeated today despite Tuesday's blanket ban announced by the Ministry of Interior on any gathering. The ministry also announced that no journalists would be allowed to cover the trial unless authorised to do so by the Supreme Judiciary Council. Security sources say the ban is intended to prevent the gridlock that paralysed Downtown Cairo during last week's hearing of the case against Bastawissi and Mekki, when streets leading to the Cairo Judges' Club and the Court of Cassation were cordoned off and the court building sealed by hundreds of riot police. No one was allowed access to the building, not even Mekki and Bastwissi's defence team, who described the trial as "scandalous" and threatened to boycott the proceedings. Demonstrators who turned up to show solidarity with the judges were beaten and chased through the streets. An estimated 200 people were arrested on charges of insulting the president and obstructing traffic and remanded in custody for 15 days. Last Thursday's events appeared to strengthen support for the judges. On the day of the demonstrations the Cairo Judges' Club called an emergency meeting and threatened to stage a strike should last week's security siege of the Court of Cassation be repeated. Meanwhile, on Tuesday the Press Syndicate announced an open ended sit-in at its headquarters in support of the judges. "We will not allow what happened last week to be repeated today," Ahmed Saber, a member of the board of the Cairo Judges' Club told Al-Ahram Weekly, adding that judges were reviewing possible responses. A symbolic sit-down protest in front of the Supreme Judiciary House to mark the first anniversary of the referendum on the amendment of Article 76 of the constitution has already been planned for 25 May. Last year the Judges' Club issued a report criticising voting irregularities during the referendum. During Thursday's meeting judges also called on the public to join them in their confrontation with the state and issued an open invitation to MPs, intellectuals and leading politicians to attend a conference, held yesterday at the Judges' Riverside Club in Giza, to discuss the judiciary law first proposed by the Cairo Judges' Club in the early 90s and intended to guarantee judicial independence from the executive, as represented by the minister of justice. Before being referred by the minister of justice for disciplinary action Mekki and Bastawissi had been leading members of the campaign to endorse the law and prevent government attempts to change its articles. The two were also instrumental in publicising the electoral fraud that marred last year's parliamentary polls, though rather than question those implicated in the irregularities the authorities turned their ire on the messengers, who found themselves facing a host of charges, including infringing judicial rules by talking to the media about political issues and harming the image of the judiciary. Mekki and Bastawissi are also accused of leaking a list, including the initials of judges alleged to have colluded in the rigging of the vote, to the press. Many commentators anticipate that the disciplinary hearings against the two judges will result in their dismissal, a conclusion that could well lead to a hardening of support for the two. The Judges' Club has already threatened to suspend the membership of those sitting on the disciplinary committee should Mekki and Bastawissi be dismissed, as well as of the justice minister and the attorney-general. Mekki and Bastawissi earlier submitted a request asking that the court panel trying them -- headed by Fathi Khalifa, the chairman of the Court of Cassation -- be replaced, arguing that as head of the state- appointed Supreme Judicial Council Khalifa was subject to a conflict of interests that would impede a fair trial. The request was rejected. (see p.3)
