• EGYPT
  • November 15, 2012
  • 2 minutes read

Beltagy: Public Prosecutor Dismissal a Revolution Objective

Beltagy: Public Prosecutor Dismissal a Revolution Objective

Dr. Mohamed Beltagy, Secretary of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in Cairo, affirmed that changing Egypt’s Public Prosecutor is one of the main demands of the January 25 revolution still unfulfilled.

"If, before the revolution, the Public Prosecutor defended the people and fought corruption, we would not have needed a revolution.

"Everyone strongly believes that the pillars of the Mubarak regime still exist at the office of the Public Prosecutor. And that is for certain – an indisputable fact. Former regime officials used to refer citizens to unjust courts through the services of the Public Prosecutor."

Meanwhile, Mukhtar Ashri, Chairman of the FJP’s Legal Committee, assured that his committee is considering the matter of the Public Prosecutor in detail. In the light of this study, the committee will determine the steps that must be taken next.

"The best solution is for the Supreme Judicial Council to do its duty. No one is above the law or the authority of the people, not even the President of Egypt. Certainly, not the Public Prosecutor."

In a statement, Ashri added that: "There are many corruption cases as yet uninvestigated – even hidden out of sight in some dark archive. What we have is a highly selective prosecution service. Things go according to the whims of Public Prosecutor,  not according to the law of the land – as we all have seen in the case brought against Dr. Essam El-Erian, the FJP Vice-Chairman".

Ashri further stressed that there are many complaints left uninvestigated since 2004 and 2005, about which no-one ever stirred a finger. All these cases are about corruption in the Mubarak era.

"Furthermore, there are over 35 complaints and cases against the Central Auditing Agency, again dating back to the Mubarak era – none of which was ever investigated. Even more, there are dozens of complaints and cases against various symbols of the now-dissolved National Party, awaiting the Public Prosecutor’s attention."