An Egyptian tour guide, right, leads a group of foreigners on a tour which includes a visit to Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square before large crowds gather for a major rally called for by opposition groups in Tahrir Square, Friday. — AP CAIRO – President Mohamed Morsi is waging a high-stakes battle with Egypt's judges, many of them foes of his Muslim Brotherhood, which is bent on purging a judiciary seen as tainted by appointees of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak. Judges called strikes and top courts halted work in protest at Morsi's decree last week that extended his powers and put his actions temporarily above legal challenge to try to speed up democratic transition in the Arab world's most populous nation. The decree sparked eight days of confrontation and violence stoked by Egyptians accusing Morsi of taking over the role of “pharaoh” from Mubarak. More protests against Morsi's new, sweeping powers broke out Friday. Many judges say their independence is at risk – a risible notion for Islamists who believe many of their judicial critics sold out to Mubarak or sacrificed integrity for personal gain long ago, and are now throwing up obstacles to Morsi's rule. “The bulk of the judiciary is good but there are those who are affiliates of the previous regime and the judiciary itself suffers from bribery and corruption,” said Sobhi Saleh, a senior official in the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. Morsi promises to preserve judicial independence in the new Egypt, but for decades he and his Brotherhood colleagues were at the sharp end of Mubarak's justice, jailed by exceptional courts under decades-old emergency laws on terrorism or other charges, or detained without trial for months or more. These are recent memories for a group banned until a popular uprising ended Mubarak's 30-year rule in February 2011. But what really drew Brotherhood ire was a ruling in June that declared the Islamist-led parliament void, leading to its dissolution. For them, it meant that even in the post-Mubarak era elected bodies could be threatened by an unreformed judicial system, which is split between liberal, secular-minded judges and those with Islamist leanings. Even members of the judiciary admit that Mubarak and his army-backed predecessors whittled away at the system's integrity over decades and were able to buy off some officials. But rights activists and others say Morsi's decree shows his idea of reform is to change personalities, not the institution, opening the way to interference in a new form. “The judiciary is in danger from Morsi's wild adventures,” said Abdel Nasser Abou al-Wafa, who was among 250 judges at a raucous meeting in Cairo where just 19 backed Mursi's moves. Others called for strike action by the courts. “There are many judges who backed and benefited from Mubarak's regime but now there is fear the judiciary will be controlled by the Brotherhood,” said judge Ahmed Hussein. The upsurge in violence and the furore over Morsi's decree, which surprised even some of his close aides, are being watched by Washington worried at any instability in a nation that in 1979 became the first Arab state to make peace with Israel. Morsi issued his decree just one day after winning praise from President Barack Obama for brokering a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Morsi has denied any link between his diplomatic success and his decision to announce his decree. – Reuters
