Anti-Muslim Brotherhood judge sworn in as Egypt’s justice minister
A new justice minister, known for his hostility toward the banned Muslim Brotherhood, has been sworn in before the president in Egypt.
"Ahmed al-Zind was sworn [in] in front of the president and in the presence of the prime minister," a statement from President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi’s office said on Wednesday.
Zind, chairman of the Judges Club, a powerful association of members of the judiciary, was an outspoken supporter of the July 2013 military takeover that ousted Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically elected president.
He frequently opposed Morsi, who rose from the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood and was ousted in 2013 by then army chief Sisi, who was last year elected as president.
Zind replaces Mahfouz Saber, whose resignation was announced on May 11 after he said that becoming a judge was too lofty an ambition for the sons of cleaners.
Saber in a television interview said Judges are "lofty and have status" and must come from "a respectable milieu," adding that if a son of a cleaner were to work as a judge, "he would get depressed and won't continue."
Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said he accepted Saber’s resignation two days after he made the derogatory comments in the televised interview.
A leading Egyptian human rights organization subsequently filed a complaint accusing Saber of promoting racism and defaming the Egyptian people.
Saber was further accused of violating the principles of the Egyptian constitution and the basics of international law that regards all people as equal.
A court in Egypt on 23 September 2013 banned all activities by the Muslim Brotherhood and ordered the government to seize the Brotherhood's assets.
Meanwhile dozens of Brotherhood's senior figures have been detained and were sentenced to death so far.
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