Sex scandal allegations hit Egypt's judiciary

Egypt’s judiciary is engulfed in a rare sex scandal, after a high-profile judge was accused of demanding sex acts in return for ruling in favour of one of the parties in a trial he was overseeing.

Rami Abdel Hadi, head of the misdemeanours court in Cairo’s Nasr City, reportedly resigned on Monday after the allegations surfaced.

A woman involved in one of his cases alleges Hadi demanded sexual favours from her, promising that he would rule for her in the case.

The woman, who has not been named, says she has recordings of incriminating telephone conversations between herself and the judge.

Hadi, dubbed the “sex bribe judge” by the Egyptian media, is now reportedly forbidden from entering the courtroom where he used to work.

He is subject to an investigation, having been arrested while holidaying at a resort on Egypt’s northern coast, according to the privately owned Mada Masr.

Fevered press coverage of the story over the past week was cut short on Tuesday, when the acting prosecutor general issued a news embargo on the story.

Ali Omran, acting as prosecutor general since the last incumbent, Hisham Barakat, was assassinated last month, released a statement ordering all Egyptian papers and news sites to refrain from discussing the case.

In the deeply polarised country, the scandal has caused controversy on all sides, with many pointing to his track record of convicting Muslim Brotherhood members as evidence that the organisation has fabricated the scandal in order to discredit the judge.

Hadi, whose father is a former member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, has handed down a number of controversial judgements in recent years, reportedly sentencing five female students to five-year prison terms for breaking Egypt’s protest law.

Hadi sprang to prominence in April 2015 when he acquitted well-known broadcaster Ahmed Moussa, known to be close to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, on charges of slandering an opposition politician.

Denying the allegations against him, the judge told state-owned daily al-Ahram this week that the scandal is linked to his decision to acquit Moussa, an outspoken opponent of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hadi told the paper that the claims were part of a “systematic campaign” against him by the organisation.

Prominent figures including journalist and broadcaster Hamdi Rizk have rallied behind Hadi, accusing the Brotherhood of going after judges who hand down sentences against their members.

News sites aligned to the Brotherhood and the political opposition, meanwhile, have sought to attack Hadi, claiming to circulate old Facebook posts by the judge in which he allegedly declares his support for ousted president Hosni Mubarak and calls the Supreme Guide of the Brotherhood a "son of a bitch".