Judge Mohammed Shehata gained international notoriety for sentencing three Al-Jazeera English journalists to prison. Now he's been criticised by Egypt's lawyers union in a statement today over the case of activist Ahmed Douma.
In Douma's trial, Shehata referred five of the six lawyers defending Douma to prosecutors for investigation, which is unprecedented in Egypt. Shehata accused them on various occasions of disrespecting him.
Douma's entire defense team has withdrawn from the case in protest. The union backed their decision, telling members to boycott Shehata's court.