A/HRC/4/33/Add.1 Page 91 Para 64. Country Date 05/05/06 Type JUA Mandate FRDX; HRD; IJL; TOR; Allegations transmitted Government Response Members of Egypt’s Judges’ Club and demonstrators who gathered to support the assembly of the Judges’ Club, as well as Ahmed Mekki, Mahmoud Maki, Hisham Bastawissi, Mahmoud al Khudayri, Nagi Derbala, Ahmad Saber and Assem Abdel Gabbar, Deputy Heads of the Court of Cassation. The Minister of the Justice decided to transfer two Deputy Heads of the Court of Cassation, Judges Mahmoud Maki and Hisham Bastawissi, to the Disciplinary Council. On 19 April 2006, to protest against the transfer, the Judges' Club launched an ongoing sit-in at its headquarters in Cairo. On Monday 24 April 2006, hundreds of police arrived in front of the Judges’ Club where a group of peaceful protesters gathered in support of the judges' sit-in. In an attempt to disperse the protest, police tore down banners listing the Judges' Club's demands and verbally and physically attacked some of the the intention of the Government. The participants in the sit-in were transferred to camps specially set up for them. They were provided with all the necessary facilities in order to start identifying their legal status, with the full involvement of UNHCR, and to deal with their cases accordingly. Since then, the issue has been under investigation by the Prosecutor General. The Ministry of Justice will soon issue a medical report concerning the case. The staff of UNHCR were given the opportunity to have access to the Sudanese nationals for the purposes of assessing any protection needs they may have. By letter dated 11/07/06, the Government reported that investigations revealed that Judge Mahmoud Maki and Judge Hisham Bastawissi had committed the offence of defamation, which is a crime under the Criminal Code, for which the two men were therefore sent before a disciplinary tribunal in accordance with article 99 of the Judicial Authority Act. With regard to the assault on Justice Mahmud Mohammed Abd al-Latif Hamzah, the Department of Public Prosecutions opened an investigation into this incident, registered as Nile Palace criminal case No. 5476/2006, in which some protestors gathered at night in front of the Judges’ Club, where the above-mentioned judge and his brother happened to be. The judge was assaulted during the breakup of the protest. He was not known to the police and was

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