Egypt’s highest judicial body has urged the country’s top prosecutor to step down, nearly five months after Islamist President Mohammed Mursi appointed him.
A statement by the Supreme Judiciary Council carried on Sunday by the official MENA news agency urged Talaat Abdullah to return to being a judge for the sake of the unity of the judiciary.
This was confirmed by Al Arabiya’s correspondent in Egypt.
Abdullah’s appointment was decried as illegal by many judges and fellow prosecutors.
Removing Abdullah has been a key demand of the mostly liberal and secular opposition.
Abdullah is staying in office and will not be replaced, the presidency’s spokesman Omar Amir said on Wednesday.
The presidency is “studying” its move to contest the court’s decision to reinstate Mahmoud, said Amir.
The opposition wants to see Abdullah out after the Cairo Court of Appeals last week reinstated his predecessor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, annulling a decree by President Mohammed Mursi to replace him with Abdullah.
Last week, protesters were angered by arrest warrants Abdullah issued against five of Egypt’s most prominent activists.