Ihab Ramzi Says Removing Christian Court Secretary 'a Black Day in Judicial History'
Dr. Ihab Ramzi, professor of law and member of the recently dissolved Egyptian parliament, said the court's response to the request of Abu Islam's lawyers to change the Christian secretary of the court is a black day in the history of the judiciary.
"The court's response to the request of the lawyers is a disaster and a double standard policy," Ramzi noted.
"This is clear religious discrimination because the secretary of the court has no authority on the issue. The major disaster is that the court has accepted the request, which means the court refuses to have a Christian member in its formation," Ramzi told Mideast Christian News.
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Ramzi stated that this is a clear example of persecution on the basis of religion.
He described what happened as "a big fault by the two parties, Abu Islam's lawyers, who asked the court to change the secretary and treated [him] as a second-class citizen, and the court, which responded to the lawyers' request."
Ramzi called for referring the judge who responded to the request of Abu Islam's defense team to judicial inspection, adding that it is clear that militancy has affected the judiciary and that the religious ideas of the Islamic movement has reached [some] judges.
Ramzi added that it is now "clear on the ground" that the judiciary does not function according to the law.
"What if the defendant is a Christian before the same court and demands to change the court members, will the court respond to him?" Ramzi wondered.
In the trial of Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah, known as Abu Islam, the owner of an Islamic TV channel and accused of contempt of religion, his defense team demanded the court change the secretary of the hearing, Essam Fouad, because he is Christian and the court accepted the request.
