Egypt's
President Mohammed Mursi has issued a
declaration banning challenges to his decrees, laws and decisions.
The
declaration also says no court
can dissolve the constituent assembly, which is drawing up a new constitution.
President
Mursi also sacked the chief prosecutor and ordered the retrial of people
accused of attacking protesters when ex-President Mubarak held office.
Egyptian
opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei accused Mr Mursi of acting like a
"new pharaoh".
In
a joint news conference held late on Thursday, Mr ElBaradai and other opposition figures described the
declaration as a "coup against legitimacy" and called on Egyptians to
take to the streets in protest.
New struggles
The
president may feel he has
gained power through his role as international mediator in the Gaza conflict, but his latest announcement is likely
to cause new struggles inside Egypt, the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo reports.
Thousands
of protesters have returned to the streets around Cairo's Tahrir Square over
the past week, demanding political reforms and the prosecution of security
officials blamed for killing demonstrators last year.
Many
feel that Egypt is missing political guidance, our correspondent says, and the
appointment of a new prosecutor could be seen as an attempt by Mr Mursi to
quell the protesters' dissatisfaction.
But
judges will view the decree as an attack on the courts' independence, our
correspondent adds.
Following
the declaration, Talaat Ibrahim will replace Abdel Maguid Mahmoud as chief
prosecutor.
Mr
Mahmoud's acquittal of officers allegedly involved in attacks on protesters led
to violent clashes in Tahrir Square in Cairo in October, when supporters and
opponents of President Mursi clashed.
The
president tried to remove Mr Mahmoud from his post by appointing him envoy to
the Vatican, without giving an official reason for the switch.
But
Mr Mahmoud defied the Egyptian leader and returned to work, escorted by judges
and lawyers.
The
new prosecutor is now tasked with re-conducting all the investigations led by
Mr Mahmoud into the alleged attacks on protesters, and re-trying people already
acquitted in the case.
President
Mursi said his decree was aimed at "cleansing state institutions" and
"destroying the infrastructure of the old regime".
The
declaration also gives the 100-member constituent assembly two additional
months to draft a new constitution, to replace the one suspended after
President Mubarak was overthrown.
The
re-write of the constitution, which was meant to be finished by December, has
been plagued by dozens of lawsuits questioning the make-up of the constituent
assembly.
Once
completed, the document should then be put to a referendum. If it is approved,
legislative elections will be held two months later.
Last
month, the Supreme Constitutional Court rejected a first draft released by the
assembly, saying that it tried to limit the courts' powers and interfere in
judicial affairs.
The
re-writing process had already been slowed by a court ruling in April
suspending the first constituent assembly, amid accusations that it was
dominated by Islamists.
In
June, political parties agreed on the make-up of a new panel, which included a
range of politicians, members of the armed forces, police, judiciary and trade
unions, as well as Muslim and Christian leaders.
However,
liberals continued to complain about the distribution of seats and have not
withdrawn their 43 legal challenges to the assembly's constitutional legitimacy.
The
assembly has welcomed Mr Mursi's declaration, saying it would help put an end
to the ongoing row over the panel's fate.
But
Mr ElBaradei said the decree effectively placed the president above the law.
"Mursi
today usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh. A
major blow to the revolution that could have dire consequences," the Nobel
Peace Prize winner wrote on his Twitter account.
The
vice-president of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Tahani al-Gebali, told the
Spanish news agency Efe that Mr Mursi was now an "illegitimate
president".
The
Egyptian Judges' Club has called an extraordinary meeting to discuss Mr Mursi's
decision. "The state of law is at stake," the association said in a
public statement.
Meanwhile
Heba Morayef, the Egypt director for Human Rights Watch, said that while the
country needed judicial reform, "granting the president absolute power and
immunity is not the way to do it".
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