The Egyptian judge who oversaw mass death sentence cases against Islamist supporters of the country’s ousted president, drawing world criticism, has been removed from his criminal court, officials and the judge himself told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Judge Said Youssef, who led two high profile cases in southern city of Minya, said he was notified on Sunday that he was removed from “criminal judiciary” to “civilian judiciary.”
“I was notified while I was looking into cases,” Mr. Youssef said. He added that his court, known as the “terrorism” court and assigned to look into cases linked to violence and acts of terror, had been “dismantled.” He declined to elaborate.
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Other officials, including a top judicial official, corroborated Mr. Youssef’s account.
Mr. Youssef was condemned when he sentenced to death more than 1,200 people in two mass trials. The number of death sentences, initially the most in recent memory anywhere in the world, was later reduced to more than 200.