June 16th, 2010 by Jennifer

Negotiations began yesterday between Egyptian lawyers and judges, in an attempt to address the escalating crisis that has gripped the Egyptian legal system for over a week. The problems began when two attorneys were sentenced to 5 years in prison after exchanging slaps with a prosecutor in Tanta, and has since snowballed into a nationwide strike, with over 100,000 lawyers protesting what they view as unfair judiciary persecution of their colleagues.

Ahmed Fathi Sorour, Peoples Assembly Speaker, met with Hamdi Khalifa, President of the Lawyers Syndicate, and is scheduled to meet with Ahmed el-Zend, head of the Judges Club, in hopes of formulating a compromise. Rhetoric has intensified between the two groups, with the Judges Club issuing statements describing lawyers as a “renegade minority and terrorists,” while Khalifa has insisted that Egyptian attorneys “will not waive our request of having our immunity as judges have it [sic], so long as we’re partners in achieving justice.”

Meanwhile, Montasar el-Zayat, member of the committee for defending detained lawyers, warned that lawyers would begin intensifying protests across the country and emphasized the urgent need to reach a solution to the situation.

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