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Agence France-Presse

Egypt’s top administrative court upheld on Monday a ruling voiding a government agreement to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia in a deal that sparked protests.
The government had appealed against a lower court ruling in June that found the controversial border demarcation agreement was illegal.
The High Administrative Court’s ruling may further complicate ties between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, a main financial backer of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi since the former army chief toppled his Islamist predecessor in 2013. Saudi Arabia has already signalled unease by stopping a promised flow of oil to Egypt, leaving Cairo scrambling to find a new supplier.

But relations have cooled over Egypt’s stance on Syria, which is seen as closer to Russia which backs President Bashar al-Assad than Saudi Arabia which supports rebels fighting him.
The courtroom erupted in cheers as the judge delivered the verdict, with lawyers and activists chanting: “These islands are Egyptian.”
The court said it was its “unanimous” decision that the two islands, Tiran and Sanafir, were sovereign Egyptian territories.

The ruling came after the government referred the agreement to parliament for a vote.
Lawyers present in court told AFP the ruling was final, but a former senior judge said the government could still find a way to appeal it.
Mohamed Hamed al-Gamal, the former head of the administrative court, said the decision was final according to this court’s procedure, but it could be unconstitutional.
“The law and the constitution affirm the absence of administrative court jurisdiction in sovereign matters such as international treaties,” Gamal said.
The government may challenge the ruling before the constitutional court, he added.

The deal to hand over the islands, signed during an April visit by Saudi King Salman in which Riyadh showered Egypt with aid, provoked accusations that Cairo had “sold” the strategic islands.
Cairo said the islands were Saudi to start with, but had been leased to Egypt in the 1950s.
Two rare protests were held in downtown Cairo in April against the deal, leading to clashes with police and arrests of activists.
Blow for Sisi as Egyptian court rejects Red Sea islands deal with Saudi Arabia
More than 100 people were jailed for up to five years for taking part in demonstrations that police quickly dispersed, but they were later freed on appeal.
Police had also made scores of arrests in the lead-up to the protests to discourage a repeat of a large rally on April 15 at which demonstrators chanted for the “fall of the regime”.


Top Egypt court rejects Red Sea islands transfer to Saudi Arabia

Egyptians react at the high administrative court as a judge announces the postponing of a court ruling in the case of two Red Sea islands. Photo: AFP

epa04717645 Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, sits in a meeting with his Greek counterpart the new Greek President, Prokopis Pavlopoulos (not pictured), at the Presidential Palace, Cairo, Egypt, 23 April 2015. Pavlopoulos is on a two day official visit to the north African country, where he will not only visit the opening ceremony of the Mar Girgis Monastery and meet members of Egypt's Greek community but the 6th largest foreign investor in Egypt will also be discussing bilateral relations between the two countries. EPA/KHALED ELFIQI

Egyptian lawyer and former presidential candidate Khaled Ali celebrates after the Supreme Administrative Court said two islands, Sanafir and Tiran, are Egyptian, debunking the government's claim that they were Saudi, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 16, 2017. An Egyptian court has ruled against the government's decision to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, a landmark verdict likely to deepen tension with the kingdom. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

(FILES) This file photo taken on January 14, 2014 through the window of an airplane shows the Red Sea's Tiran (foreground) and the Sanafir (background) islands in the Strait of Tiran between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia. Egypt's High Administrative Court upheld on January 16, 2017 a ruling voiding a government agreement to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia in a deal that had sparked protests in Egypt. / AFP PHOTO / STRINGER

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