EWMI NEWS 2006:
MAY 2009
EWMI HELPS CLARIFY RIGHT TO COUNSEL ISSUES IN EGYPT

In May 2009, the Administration of Criminal Justice Project (AOCJ) printed and distributed 5,000 Arabic and 300 English copies of its Right to Counsel Handbook. The Handbook was created to clarify right to counsel issues, strengthen the right to defense guaranteed by law and help prosecutors advise defendants and witnesses on their rights. In June, the project began monitoring reaction to the handbook from the leadership of Egypt’s Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) and by rank and file prosecutors. Reaction from PGO leadership has been universally favorable. For example, Counselor Adnan El-Fangary stated that the handbook can serve as model for all of the Public Prosecution’s publications. Counselor Adel Zayed indicated that each prosecutor should keep this important reference book in his library, and that copies were being provided to all visiting dignitaries as an example of the PGO’s work. Even the Prosecutor General noted that the handbook was well accepted and admired. Feedback from prosecutors has been equally favorable. When asked to comment on the handbook, prosecutors who participated in the second observational study tour and in the combined training responded that it was a very valuable resource for addressing right to counsel issues, both in theory and in practice.

Through the USAID-funded Administration of Criminal Justice Project, EWMI is working to improve indigent criminal defense in Egypt under a subcontract with Chemonics International.