Egyptian court revokes Morsi's sacking of top prosecutor

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Egyptian court revokes Morsi's sacking of top prosecutor

An Egyptian appeals court has overturned Mohammed Morsi's presidential decree sacking the country's top prosecutor and ordered his reinstatement, state TV reported. The move again puts the judiciary at odds with Morsi.

The court revoked Morsi's action Wednesday, however the ruling is likely to be challenged by the government.

The sacking of Prosecutor General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud (pictured above) four months ago caused uproar among the Egyptian judiciary.

Morsi sent Mahmoud into early retirement on November 21 as part of a decree granting him sweeping powers and putting his decisions above the judiciary. He replaced Mahmoud, a holdover from the regime of ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak, with the current prosecutor general, Talaat Ibrahim.

The decree drew sharp criticism at the time from the judiciary, which accused Morsi of interfering in its independence. The Egyptian president's actions were called a "coup" and sparked massive street protests across the country.

The decree was eventually repealed under great political pressure, but the decisions stemming from it were protected under the controversial constitution passed in December.

A number of political activists in recent days have refused to appear before Ibrahim, who they say is a political appointee and not a neutral judicial official.

Date 27.03.2013

Source: dr/hc (AFP, dpa, AP)