Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
(Image source: The New York Times)
BY SHANLEY REYNOLDS AND ZACH TOOMBS
Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court disbanded indefinitely Sunday, right in the thick of
a building constitutional crisis. The LA Times and the BBC explain why.
“A statement by the judges said a huge crowd that [had yelled out] slogans that ‘condemned
judges’ had forced the court's indefinite suspension … judges felt threatened in an
atmosphere ‘charged with hatred and malice and the need for revenge.’”
“The decision comes while a confrontation is taking place between Egypt's highest court
and Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Morsi. On Sunday, there was a tense standoff
when hundreds of the President's supporters besieged the offices of the constitutional
court.”
This comes only 10 days after Morsi issued a new and controversial constitutional decree.
“...he gave himself sweeping new powers, he said he needs until Egypt has a new democratic
constitution. The panel that’s writing that constitutional rushed to finish a final draft
on Friday. That panel is dominated by President Morsi Islamist allies.” [Video: Sky News]
According to The Washington Post, that decree “places nearly all his actions temporarily
beyond judicial review...”
Al Jazeera reports a group representing the judges says they are protesting that decree
and it will not supervise the new constitutional referendum.
“They are protesting a presidential decree that takes away significant power from the
judiciary will earlier the country's constitutional court said the spent all working definitely
ecological pressure from pro- government supporters”