CAIRO, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi agreed Saturday to have the country's prosecutor general keep his job, Egyptian presidency spokesman Yasser Ali announced.
In a statement delivered Saturday, Ali said the Supreme Judicial Council petitioned Morsi during a meeting earlier in the day for keeping Prosecutor General Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud in office.
Ali added that Mahmoud himself expressed his desire to keep his job and that he described as confusing Morsi's earlier order to sack him.
The spokesman said Morsi heeded the petition and the prosecutor general's wish and decided to agree that Mahmoud stays as the country's top prosecutor.
A political and legal crisis erupted Thursday after Morsi issued a decree to remove Mahmoud from the post of prosecutor general and appoint him as the ambassador to Vatican, which was followed by an angry reaction by the latter, who considered it as a violation of the judiciary independence.
Egyptian laws grant the prosecutor general immunity against removal from office and stipulate that he leaves office out of his own accord or when he reaches retirement age.
Earlier on Saturday, more than 1,000 Egyptian judges and members of the prosecutor's office expressed support to Mahmoud's decision not to resign in accordance with Morsi's order, official news agency MENA reported.
Head of the Judges Club Ahmed el-Zend was among the protesters who rallied outside the Supreme Judicial Court to back the prosecutor's decision.
The president issued the order in an apparent attempt to appease the public anger toward Wednesday's acquittal of 24 former senior officials accused of attacking protesters in last year's upheaval.
The judges said they protested Morsi's de facto sacking of Mahmoud because the move infringed upon the judicial authority.
Speaking to his supporters at the Supreme Judicial Court, Mahmoud said Morsi's attempt to replace him was not within his presidential mandate as it violated judicial independence and the constitutional principle of the separation of authorities.
He also assured that he is capable of ending the public anger that broke out after the acquittal of the 24 ex-officials.
CAIRO, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has ousted Prosecutor General Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud, the state TV reported Thursday.
The decision came one day after the Criminal Court decided to acquit all defendants accused of attacking peaceful protesters at Cairo's Tahrir Square in what is known as "camel battle" during the anti-government protests last year. Full story
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