A judge in Egypt s top appeals court stepped down on Thursday from the case of imprisoned political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is appealing a five-year sentence for violating Egypt s protest law, a judicial source told Al-Ahram Online.
The judge gave no reason for the decision, only citing "embarassment," according to the source.
His decision referred the case to another circuit, while setting a new trial date for November 8.
Abdel Fattah, once an icon of the 2011 revolution which toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak, was arrested along with 24 others and sentenced in 2015 to five years in prison over charges including protesting without a police permit and attacking a policeman.
The activist s initial sentence of 15 years was later reduced to five years after a retrial. Abdel Fattah has so far served three and a half years of his term.
All others sentenced in the case have been pardoned by the president on separate occasions, but not Abdel Fattah.
