CAIRO: Assistant Attorney General Aly Omran has assumed the position of Acting Attorney-General, succeeding late prosecutor Hisham Barakat, who was assassinated in a Monday car bomb attack, Youm7 reported Wednesday.
Judge Omran is the President of the Cairo Appeal Court and one of the oldest assistants to Barakat.
Omran’s temporarily assignment came per Article 189 of the judiciary law until a new Attorney-General is appointed. The law stipulates that in case the position of the Attorney-General is vacant due to “death, illness, serious injury or long travel,” then the oldest member of the public prosecution assumes his duties.
Omran, a graduate of the Faculty of Law, is the head of the Judicial Inspection unit in the Public Prosecution. He was one of the Attorney-General’s assistants and was promoted until he became the President of the Cairo Appeal Court.
Late Attorney-General Barakat, 65, died due to severe injuries after a bomb attack targeted his convoy; at least six were injured. A group that proclaims itself as “Giza Popular Resistance” claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack was perpetrated one day before the second anniversary of the June 30 anti-Muslim Brotherhood mass protests, after which the military overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 3, 2013.
Additional reporting by Ibrahim Kassim