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Al-Ahram Weekly 21 - 27 October 1999 Issue No. 452 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 21 - 27 October 1999 Issue No. 452
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Making ready for Bar elections
By Mona El-NahhasThe majority of those arrested in Thursday's meeting at the Maadi headquarters of the Engineering Organisations' Union had held senior positions within professional syndicates before judicial sequestration. They include Mokhtar Nouh, former treasurer of the Bar Association's Islamist-controlled council, dissolved in 1996 amid accusations of financial irregularities. Nouh was intending to run in the long-delayed elections at the Bar Association "after getting a green light from the government". Khaled Badawi, assistant treasurer of the dissolved council, is also among the detainees.
The arrests occurred five days after the Court of Cassation backed an earlier Appeal Court ruling ending the three-year-old sequestration imposed on the Bar Association, and many lawyers insist that the move against the Muslim Brotherhood indicates that elections are now imminent.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice Farouq Seif El-Nasr broke practically three months' silence on the issue by announcing on Monday the formation of the interim judicial committee which will take charge of the syndicate's affairs under the Appeal Court's ruling. The committee is mandated to prepare syndicate council elections within six months of its formation.
Seif El-Nasr has turned down a request submitted by one of the existing custodians, Ahmed Reda Ghatwari, calling for a 10-member governmental committee to take charge of the syndicate's affairs for at least a year while the prosecution completes its investigations into complaints filed against members of the dissolved council. Seif El-Nasr insists Ghatwari's suggestion violates the ruling of the Court of Cassation. In protest, Ghatwari and the two other custodians have resigned.
Islamist lawyer Fatema Rabie accused the government of breaking promises made to the Muslim Brotherhood a few months ago. "The two sides agreed that the Muslim Brothers would get a few seats on the syndicate's council in return for their support of the government's candidate, rumoured to be Ragi'i Atteya, for the post of syndicate chairman," she said. "Yet after offering Atteya all the support he needs, the Brotherhood has been rewarded with detention."
Lawyer Selim El-Awwa suggested comparisons with the campaign directed in 1995 against Islamists. Then numerous members of the Muslim Brotherhood were referred to military courts, allegedly to prevent them from participating in the 1996 parliamentary elections.
Ahmed Nasser, Wafdist candidate for the post of syndicate chairman, refused to comment, though he conceded that he anticipated the opening of all the candidates' election campaigns soon.
"This will be the start of restoring independence to the Bar Association," Nasser said, adding that he remained optimistic the elections will reflect the true will of the majority of lawyers. "Elections at the Bar Association are usually fair. The government cannot really touch them," he insisted.
