Egyptian court orders review of suit calling to expel Iranian envoy
The lawsuit, filed by a lawyer named Youssef Matani, targets Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, as well as the Iranian ambassador to Cairo.
By MAAYAN GROISMANUpdated: APRIL 14, 2016 11:51A MILITARY truck carrying a missile and a picture of Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei drives in a parade marking the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war in Tehran(photo credit: REUTERS)
Egypt’s Administrative Judicial Court ruled Wednesday that a lawsuit seeking to expel Iran's ambassador to Cairo and close the Iranian embassy would be passed to the State Lawsuit Authority.The lawsuit, filed by a lawyer named Youssef Matani, targets Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, as well as the Iranian ambassador to Cairo."Iran is playing with all Arab States while it only cares about its terror conspiracies. It supports terrorist militias and it also provides gangs and mercenaries operating on its behalf with financial and logistical support," the lawsuit read."Iran continues supporting the terror organization Hezbollah, which kills our brothers in Syria, and it supported Iraqi militias to such an extent that terror is a now a natural part of Iraq, " the Egyptian lawyer further argued.According to the court's decree, issued by the President of Egypt's Council of State, the State Lawsuit Authority will review the lawsuit and prepare a judicial report about it.Egyptian lawyers have targeted Iran by legal means in the past. In 2009, two lawyers filed two lawsuits against the latter: one against then-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, seeking to stop him from visiting Egypt, and the other requesting the closure of an Iranian satellite channel bureau in Egypt. Both lawsuits were ignored by Egypt's prosecutor general.