CAIRO: An Egyptian judge has stepped down from the appeal case of an Al-Jazeera television producer who was sentenced for "harming Egypt's national interests. Judge Mahmoud Hamza was due Saturday to hear the appeal of Howayda Taha, who was sentenced in abstentia last May by Egypt's state security criminal court to six months imprisonment and fined $5,200 over a documentary she was making on torture in Egypt's prisons, which has since been aired. A new judge will be appointed today. Hamza is part of the Egyptian judiciary's pro-reform camp, which had campaigned vigorously for judicial independence from the executive in the lead-up to the 2005 presidential elections. During a 2006 protest in support of two reformist judges, Hamza was beaten by security forces in a crackdown which saw hundreds arrested. He cited a conflict of interest as the reason he was stepping down from the case. He can t take a case that deals with such a sensitive government issue, considering the position he was in himself with the government, a judicial source said. Taha told Daily News Egypt that Hamza's own difficulties with the security forces precluded him from adjudicating her case as it involves a legal battle with the same authority. "He can't take this case because he has problems with the security himself, Taha said. "He feels embarrassment - his enemy is the security and my enemy is the security. Gamal Eid, Taha's lawyer, told Daily News Egypt that he believes another reason for Hamza's abdication could be that the Egyptian council of judges was pressuring him to unfairly rule against Taha. Eid added that he was initially hopeful after learning Hamza would be the judge, and expressed his disappointment over the news of his stepping down. "We were optimistic when we heard he was taking the case, Eid said. "He is a very independent judge with a good reputation. "Now we are just waiting to see who will take over, and whether it will be a fair trial or not. Taha spent a month in prison after her sentence before leaving for Qatar while Eid petitioned for appeal. She had returned to Egypt to attend the appeal case but will now go back to Qatar -where she is working on a documentary on political reform in the Arab region - while a new date is set. Taha added that she feels "neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the outcome of her appeal. Additional reporting by Ethar Shalaby
