Cabinet clashes judge refers lawyer Khaled Ali to prosecution

Judge Mohamed Nagy Shehata referred former presidential candidate and defense lawyer Khaled Ali to the prosecution on Wednesday for insulting the court.

The referral followed a verbal altercation that took place between them during a session in the “cabinet clashes” case, after which the judge adjourned the session to November 22.

Some 270 defendants are being tried in the case, including activist Ahmed Douma, on charges of illegal assembly, assaulting police and Armed Forces personnel and vandalism of government buildings, during violent clashes between protesters and police and military forces in December 2011 that led to at least 18 deaths.

In a statement following the session, Ali said he would present a complaint to the supreme judicial council and the prosecution regarding comments the judge made, which he claimed prove Shehata’s preconceived judgement in the case.

A video of the session, published by Al-Sabah privately owned daily, shows Ali asking the judge to add several documents to the case relating to the assault and unlawful detention of protesters by military and police forces.

Judge Shehata responded by saying: “Do you want military and police forces to be beaten up and not respond?”

Ali demanded that the judge’s comments be included in the record of the session, to prove his bias against the defendants. The judge abruptly adjourned the session and retreated to the deliberation room. Ali yelled at the judge as he was leaving the room, accusing him of bias.

Defense lawyer Malek Adly claims Judge Shehata has shown arbitrary bias towards the defendants since the start of the case, and that, being a former police officer, he has rejected any mention of the assault of defendants by police and military forces.

The judge refused to allow defendants to attend the court sessions, except for Douma. He also denied several requests from the defense team, including permission to show the videos used as evidence against the defendants, and banned several documents that allegedly prove the assault of protesters.

Shehata also refused to give defense lawyers a copy of the case and to hear from eyewitnesses.

Adly said that the judge refused to admit Douma to the hospital, despite his critical health resulting from a prolonged hunger strike.

Defense lawyers made a formal complaint against the judge due to his unresponsive behavior, which is unprecedented in the Egyptian judicial system, according to Adly.

Judge Shehata previously referred defense lawyers Osama al-Mahdy, Mahmoud Bilal and Basma Zahran to the prosecution for disrupting the court. On another occassion, he referred lawyer Ragia Omran to the prosecution for answering her phone outside the courtroom during a session.