Egypt

Appeal against Red Sea Islands adjourned for recusation of judges

On Sunday, the Supreme Administrative Court adjourned to July 3 the government's appeal against last week's verdict to nullify a border demarcation agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia made in April.

A different circuit within the court will consider whether to recuse the judges who presided over the case filed against the border agreement by lawyer and former presidential hopeful, Khaled Ali and his team.

Last Tuesday, the State Council's Administrative Court nullified the border agreement, which claimed that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir — long believed to be Egyptian — in fact fell in Saudi waters and were to be officially handed back to the kingdom. The government immediately appealed the decision.

Omar Rafeq, the deputy head of the State Lawsuits Authority (who represent the government in legal cases) presented the court on Sunday with 22 documents to support the case for the islands belonging to Saudi Arabia. Among the documents were letters exchanged between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in which the latter asked Cairo to take responsibility for protecting Tiran and Sanafir.

Several lawyers and political activists were present for the first session of the appeal on Sunday morning.

Tight security measures were enforced in the vicinity of the court, and no protesters were seen in the area.

Activist Mamdouh Hamza, who filed the original lawsuit against the border agreement along with Ali, attended, as well as the Secretary General of the Social Democratic Egyptian Party, Ahmed Fawzy, and 6 April Movement Spokesperson Sherif al-Rouby.

Ali, with the support of several lawyers and politicians, had filed the lawsuit with the State Council (the branch of Egypt's judiciary system that treats administrative disputes relating to the exercising of state power) on the grounds that the agreement had been made illegally.

The ruling went in Ali's favor, with the court deciding that the islands are sovereign Egyptian territory and cannot be given away. The government immediately appealed the decision, and Sunday was set as the date for the appeal to be considered by the State Council.

 

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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