Human Rights Lawyer Amal Clooney and the Investigation on the Egyptian Judiciary

There has been a great deal of discussion with regards to the continued human rights abuses in Egypt. Whether it was the illegal coup that brought Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to power, the crackdown and killings of Muslim Brotherhood supporters, or the repression of journalists in Egypt, the Egyptian leadership has been clearly carried out a campaign of rights abuses against those who challenge the current political system, or those who are attempting to expose issues of corruption or injustice in the country.

This has been further evident with recent statements made by international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney. Clooney, who represents  the journalists detained for over a year in Egypt, was investigating Egypt’s judicial system, when officials told her that she could be arrested if she published anything related to the state leaders or the judiciary. Speaking to The Guardian, Clooney was quoted as saying that “When I went to launch the report, first of all they stopped us from doing it in Cairo…”. She went on to say that “[t]hey said: ‘Does the report criticise the army, the judiciary, or the government?’ We said: ‘Well, yes.’ They said: ‘Well then, you’re risking arrest.’”

In the report, done for the International Bar Association, the investigators found there was a lack of independence amongst judges, namely because of the power of the Minister of Justice. Thus, Clooney and the other investigators recommended greater separation between judges and Egyptian leaders, as there has been cases where they have been able to select certain judges for cases (The Guardian, 2014).

The statements do not come as a surprise, as it seems that the Egyptian government has continued to control various aspects of the state, including but not limited to the judiciary. It is important that the current political system in Egypt is being exposed, since there are many lives at stake with the continued state oppression.

There must be pressure put on the Egyptian leaders to end such practices. The United States, for example, continues to support Egypt, and thus, could (and should) use its influence (namely but cutting resources) to end the rights abuses in the state. However, it is unlikely to happen, given the relationship between the U.S. and Egypt. 

However, what is evident is that the authoritarian leadership of El-Sisi has continued to expand his power in the state, leaving many human rights activists worried about the direction of Egypt. It will be difficult to establish a long-term democracy in the state, particularly if the judiciary is not independent from the top political leaders in the country.