Council upholds forced retirement for 15 judges accused of Brotherhood ties

The High Disciplinary Council issued a final verdict upholding forced retirement for 15 judges who founded the Judges for Egypt group, which is suspected of affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, the privately owned Al-Shorouk newspaper reported Monday.

The justices were accused of founding Judges for Egypt in 2012. That year, the group released a statement supporting former President Mohamed Morsi’s election and went on to align itself with Morsi’s administration, creating a rift with other judges.

Judges for Egypt also issued what came to be known as the Rabea Statement in July, 2013, to voice their support for Morsi after he was forcibly ousted from power. Signatories to the Rabea Statement were referred to a disciplinary board for engaging in political activity, which violates the laws governing the judiciary.

The judges were forced into retirement by the Supreme Judicial Council on March 14, 2015, but later filed an appeal on the grounds that the verdict was unlawful.

The High Disciplinary Council postponed the verdict for 55 other judges in the case to March 28.