Maat Center held a symposium
together with ' The Brightness of the new society Association ' to discuss
the vision of Mr. Saeed El Deeb , the lawyer and the activist jurist, about
some legislative amendments of the Law of Criminal Procedures . The
symposium witnessed a wide argument around the suggestions of Mr. Saeed El
Deeb , the most important of which is to guarantee the sound procedures
during the stage of collecting evidences and the necessity of the existence
of witnesses during inspecting the house or scrutiny under the permission of
investigation bodies. He also demands not to ask the accused person before
men of police stations during the absence of the lawyer to guarantee that
the accused person will not admit crimes which he did not commit under the
pressure of threatening or torturing , which decreases the opportunity of
having a fair trial before investigation bodies ' Public Prosecution' or the
Judiciary which might not be able to treat things and might be satisfied
with the sayings of the accused person during collecting evidences.
Mr. Saeed El Deeb gives the
example of the issue of the actress, Habeeba, who was forced to admit murder
which she did not commit and ,as a result, she submitted to trial and spent
five years behind the bars because the judiciary did not consider the
reasons behind which she was forced to admit what she is innocent of.
Mr. El Deeb said that the task
of the judge is nothing but 'papers' through which he decides the issue and
no one can force him to consider any thing other than the 'papers' .
Hence appears the need to
guarantee the soundness of collecting evidences and of the inspecting
operation and scrutiny , by the existence of lawyers and witnesses , and
this is a simple step towards a wide amendment of the Law of Criminal
Procedures.
A member of the Bar
Association Council, Saber Ammar declared his disagreement with El Deeb's
vision , pointing out to the fact that the whole Law of Criminal Procedures
is in need of comprehensive change without pitching it . He added that the
law with its recent shape is penetrated by 41amendments since 1950 , which
means that its shape has changed a lot and is no longer suitable for
modern considerations.
Ammar assured the
impossibility of talking about new other amendments in this law without
reconsidering the competences of the Public Prosecution which included the
authorities of both accusation and investigation after eliminating the role
of the referral counsel and militating the Public Prosecution Body by
entering police members in its career. These police members spoiled the Body
due to the nature of their bringing up which is based upon obeying and
dependence.
Ammar also wonders: How could
we talk about sound Law of Criminal Procedures under the umbrella of a
suspected Emergency Law? So, the aim from the very beginning is to make a
balance between the rights of the society and of the accused person who is
supposed to be innocent until proved guilty. Ammar added that we are in a
society in which the law is relative and justice is just applied to the
weak people while the power of injustice is surpassed in many cases in
favor of the leaders of the state , to the extent that legislation is now
in need to walk on a railway just as the Egyptian street to guarantee not
repeating the false of prosecutors and investigation bodies that were raised
upon dominated and unjudicial concepts. So, the problem is in those who
apply the law and who are the base of every corruption , an the policemen ,
the majority of which had left their consciences before the gates of their
faculties , hate lawyers , in spite of the fact that both policemen and
lawyers are in charge to look for justice, and if exists in Egypt an unfair
law and affair judge , the judgment of the judge will be righteous , and
justice will prevail.
Ammar demands the necessity of
informational and judicial coordination so as to change the culture of the
Egyptians who used to be afraid of the deviated policemen , calling for
stopping the huge increase in the balance of the Ministry of Interior,
which expenditure has trespassed, according to what he says , the
expenditure of the Ministry of Defence , while this policy produced nothing
but more and more of criminals and terrorists who are brought up inside the
Egyptian jails and detention camps on the expense of those who paid levies.
Mr. Ayman Oqueel , the lawyer
and the Manager of Maat Center , commented by saying that we are in need to
cancel or freeze the Emergency Law so as to guarantee executing any
suggested amendments of the Law of Criminal Procedures and the Law of
Penalties and to create a suitable atmosphere for the legal procedures, that
would agree with the international treaties which were signed by Egypt and
which became part of its inner legislations as well as reference to a lot of
judges who refuse the legislative defect which infected some of the laws
passed by the majority of the National Democratic Party under the
parliament.
