The Egyptian Bar Association announced an “indefinite” strike to protest the imprisonment of six colleagues for a brawl with clerks earlier this month. On Wednesday, the criminal court of Marsa Matrouh (north-west) sentenced six lawyers to two years in prison following a brawl between them and three court clerks in the coastal city on January 5, according to the state-owned daily al-Ahram. The Egyptian lawyers believe that there was “a clear intention to keep their colleagues in custody without real justification” and denounce a “rush to bring them to trial without taking the time to conduct a real investigation”, according to the statement of their union. The lawyers of the six convicts have appealed the decision and the court is expected to consider their request on Sunday.
SOURCE: AFRICA NEWS