On Saturday, Egypt’s Supreme Administrative court made headlines once again when it rejected the Egyptian government’s appeal against previous administrative court order obliging it to demand the rights of the 1956 and 1967 Egyptian POWs officially.
The Supreme Administrative court headed by honourable Judge Ahmed El-Shazly upheld the March 2008 Administrative court’s ruling obliging the Egyptian government to demand the rights of the Egyptian POWs in the 1956 and 1967 wars.
In 2001, a group of Egyptian POWs families and ex-POWs represented by lawyer and 1973 war veteran Wahid El-Oksori filed a lawsuit in front of the Egyptian administrative court demanding the Egyptian government to investigate the allegations against the Israeli Defense Forces “IDF”.
In March 2008, the administrative court issued its court ruling obliging the Egyptian foreign ministry to investigate the allegations. Following that court order, the Egyptian government represented in the State Lawsuits authorities
The Egyptian government represented in the State Lawsuits authorities appealed the court ruling in front of the Supreme Administrative court.
Only on 21 January 2018, the Supreme Administrative court made its final verdict rejecting the Egyptian government’s appeal and upholding the 2008 court ruling.
The State lawsuits authority claimed in its appeal that the Egyptian government did not fail its duty. It said that ousted President Mubarak demanded Israel to investigate the allegations of killing the Egyptian POWs in 1995 and that the Israeli government formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the matter. That alleged fact-finding committee finished its work in 1998 but did not share its results with the Egyptian government according to the government’s representative in court.
The State lawsuits authority added that the Egyptian foreign ministry followed the Shaked documentary in 2007 and raised the matter with Israel as well as the Red Cross. The government’s lawyer added in its appeal that Camp David accords and suspected that the families of the POWs are related to the POWs in the first place !!
According to the Supreme Administrative court’s reasoning that the documents presented to it that the IDF committed war crimes against Egypt and the Arab military and that the Egyptian government failed in prosecuting Israel criminally as well in demanding compensation international for the victims.
Head of Supreme Administrative court Judge Ahmed EL-Shazly made headlines last week when the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the appeal of the Egyptian government against the Administrative court ruling in April 2016 annulling the Egyptian Saudi deal to redraw the maritime deal, which placed the Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir under Saudi Sovereignty.
Ironically, the State lawsuits authority brought up once again the jurisdiction of the Supreme Administrative Court in its lawsuit just like Tiran and Sanafir.
There has been no reaction from the Egyptian foreign ministry about this court ruling yet.