Judges slam Morsi\'s declaration, unrest follows

Egypt's top judges have denounced President Mohamed Morsi for granting himself sweeping new powers Hundreds of Egyptian judges on Saturday held an exceptional meeting for the Judges' Club assembly at the High Court headquarters in downtown Cairo to discuss a response to President Mohammed Morsi's constitutional declaration issued Thursday, which they said oversteps their judicial jurisdiction and independence.
The meeting saw the first appearance of Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, who was dismissed as general prosecutor according to Morsi's declaration.
Speaking before several hundreds of judges, Mahmoud stressed he would legally challenge the President's decision to relieve him of his duties.
Mahmoud attempted to annihilate accusations that his office was slow or ineffective in prosecuting those who killed unarmed protesters after the January 25 uprising by pointing fingers at the Ministry of Interior for not referring any suspects to his office.
Mahmoud slammed the Ministry of Interior saying that it failed to provide the prosecutors with evidence or suspects in the violent attacks against the anti-SCAF protesters in 2011.
"The Ministry of Interior has never referred any suspects to the office of the prosecutor general in the Two Saints Church bombing in January 2010, the Maspero massacre in October 2011, the Mohammed Mahoumd street clashes in November 2011 and the cabinet headquarters clashes in December  2011."
Mahmoud also denied firmly that he had suspended investigations over corruption cases in which some figures of Hosni Mubarak's regime were charged.
Besides sacking the general prosecutor, Morsi's declaration gave his decrees total immunity from being overturned by any court, putting him and his decrees out of judicial reach; a decision that sparked rage among all factions of the opposition consisting mainly of liberals and leftists.
Meanwhile, outside the High Court, hundreds of protesters who marched against president Mohamed Morsi's decree were attacked by unknown assailants late afternoon.
The Constitution Party, the People's Current Movement, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party and the liberal Wafd Party came to the court to voice support for the judges.
Around 216 people have been arrested in Cairo, plus 40 people arrested in Alexandria, due to the clashes this week, security sources have said.
The Ministry of Health announced that over 227 people were injured during the last three days, with 45 being treated in hospital. Of these injuries, 56 occurred in and around Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo where running battles have caused injuries to both protesters and security personnel. There were a further 30 injured in Alexandria. Other cities witnessed violence on Friday, with injuries sustained in Port Said, Mahalla, Damanhour, Assiut and Mansoura.
Clashes in front of offices of the President's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) across Egypt led to large numbers of injuries, media sources said. At least three FJP offices were stormed and set ablaze.
The FJP, political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, called for mass protests to take place Sunday in support of President Morsi.
The statement containing the call to demonstrate, defended the President's declaration, arguing it seeks to finalise the draft constitution. The group further condemned those who oppose the decree, accusing them of trying to "hurdle the drafting of the new constitution and the planned parliamentary elections in an attempt to topple the regime and take over power."
"They (demonstrators against the constitutional declaration) protested using indecent parlance and with the help of thugs, destroyed and burned the FJP offices, while others attacked the police using Molotov cocktails and stones and set fire to public institutions."
The Brotherhood, however, added that despite the "mental and physical assault" it has suffered, it still seeks to "accomplish the country's interests in a democratic and just context."
For his part, Prime Minister Heham Qandil warned Egyptians that challenging Morsi's decision would lead to destruction and bloodshed.
"The choice at the end is to the people; to build or to destroy; to set stone after stone to build or to allow bloodsheds," Qandil said on his official Twitter account.
On the other hand, 15 political parties and groups have called on their supporters to protest against Morsi's new constitutional declaration "that shields his decrees from judicial oversight and deems the Islamist-dominated Constituent Assembly immune from dissolution by courts."
Parties and groups who announced the call for Tuesday are also staging a sit-in in Tahrir Square, where tens of thousands demonstrated Friday in protest against Morsi's decree.
The groups include the Constitution Party, the People's Current, Socialist Popular Alliance Party, April 6 Movement, Free Egyptians Party, Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Youth for Justice and Freedom group, Kefaya [Enough] movement, the National Front for Justice Democracy and Maspero Youth Union.
"We are facing an historic moment in which we either complete our revolution or we abandon it to become prey for a group [Muslim Brotherhood] that has put its narrow party interests above the national interest," said the statement, issued by the Constitution Party, led by reform campaigner Mohamed El-Baradei, on its Facebook page late Friday.
In a speech Friday to thousands of supporters, Morsi said that he does not want to abuse his legislative power, adding that he would never use his authority against any person or party.