Legal appeal to promote Sisi, rename public squares in his honor

An Egyptian court is currently reviewing an appeal to promote Head of the Armed Forces Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to the rank of field marshal, requesting that the government renames all of Egypt's major city squares in his honor.

Privately owned Al-Shorouk newspaper reported on Tuesday that the appeal was filed by lawyer Lotfi Gayyed, but supplied no further information on his background. Gayyed’s appeal calls on the president of the republic and prime minister to promote Sisi to the rank of field marshal.

Fifty-nine year-old Sisi is currently filling the combined posts of chief of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), commander-in-chief of Egypt's armed forces, minister of defense, minister of military production, and deputy prime minister.

Sisi is credited with being the driving force behind the military's ouster of President Mohamed Morsi on July 3, amid mass popular protests against the former president’s year in power.

Morsi promoted Sisi to the post of defense minister and chief of SCAF in August 2012, replacing Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.

Tantawi served as Hosni Mubarak's minister of defense for 20 years, until he replaced Mubarak after his ouster on February 11, 2011.

Sisi served in the upper echelons of the old regime's military apparatus since 2008, eventually becoming Mubarak's chief of military intelligence. He gained popularity following the June 30 uprising, which toppled Morsi after one year in office.

Sisi and the interim government arrested Morsi on July 3. Since then, several hundred Morsi-supporters have reportedly been killed by security forces, while hundreds of others have been arrested. 

An administrative court is reportedly awaiting the opinion of a panel of judicial commissioners regarding the appeal for Sisi's promotion.