Judge resigns amid accusations of sexual bribery

Judge Ramy Abdel Hady resigned on Tuesday after he was accused of demanding sexual favors from a woman who appeared before his court, a source from the Justice Ministry told privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper.

Hady was arrested while on vacation in one of the resorts on the North Coast, after administrative officials received a report of the incident, state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported. 

Activist Mohamed Salah wrote on Facebook that the woman Hady demanded a sexual bribe from recorded phone calls between them proving this was the case. She reportedly submitted this evidence to the administrative authority, who then passed it to the acting prosecutor general.

The Supreme Judicial Council decided to lift Hady’s judicial immunity after an emergency meeting was convened Saturday evening.

Hady told Al-Ahram that the accusations are a “Brotherhood campaign” to tarnish his image because he acquitted television host Ahmed Moussa of slander.

Salah highlighted Hady’s history of handing down harsh sentences. “It’s not just that he ruled that Ahmed Moussa was innocent, this man imprisoned many youth and students in the cases he presided over.”

Acting Prosecutor General Aly Amran issued a gag order Monday evening on the case, banning print, visual and audio media coverage, Al-Ahram reported.

There has been a social media backlash against Hady, particularly in the aftermath of the publishing ban. Critics have highlighted the sexual and political content on Hady’s personal Facebook page, which has since been taken down, as being unprofessional for a judge.

Hady posted videos stating that he supported Mubarak, as well as pictures of oppositional figures photoshopped into revealing clothes.