Egypt judges to strike over Mursi powers

Amid ongoing protests against Mohammed Mursi, Egypt’s top judges say they are going on strike until the president withdraws his controversial decree granting himself wide-ranging powers and putting himself above legal challenge. The country’s Supreme Constitutional Court has hit back at Mursi’s accusations of bias among top judges, calling on him to justify his comments. A spokesman for the court, Maher Samy, said that it had been the target of a ferocious and unfair campaign among politicians, and now the president had joined in abruptly and viciously. It was not true that judges were chosen according to their political beliefs or that they were loyal to the former regime, he added. Appeals court judges say they are halting all but essential work such as corruption cases in protest at Mursi’s decree. The president’s actions surprised even some of his own team: at least two advisers resigned. But the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups have called for a rally in support of Mursi on Saturday.