In a press statement, Mukhtar El-Ashri, Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP)’s Legal Committee, affirmed that the ruling issued Sunday by the Court of Misdemeanor in Ismailia, about prisoners of Wadi Natrun, is null and void, for a number of reasons, including that it had been agreed the judge would be replaced (on July 6, a court is to discuss requests for that replacement), and that the Court acted outside its jurisdiction.

"This morning’s decision is a farcical ruling that has only one goal: to allow this judge to come out and read that statement in front of TV camera lenses.

"This judge has two legal challenges against him at the Judicial Inspection. It is neither his competence nor jurisdiction to add new incidents to the original case. It is legally wrong that he goes ahead with this case even though he is to be replaced. Evidently, this is a clear violation of the law. It seems this judge has no respect for the Constitution or the law."

Ashri added, "All that this judge wanted was to come out and announce this ruling before June 30. This also helps ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his interior minister Habib Al-Adli in the legal case against killers of peaceful demonstrators."