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Egypt's justice minister resigns over controversial "racist" statement

Xinhua, May 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab accepted on Monday the resignation of Justice Minister Mahfouz Saber who has recently made an anti-poor statement that angered the public opinion and was described as "racist," official MENA news agency reported.

The sacked minister has recently made a statement to a TV station that children of garbage people cannot be judges or hired at judicial posts due to the position and prestige of such posts.

Saber's statement stirred up a wave of criticism as "racist" and "hate speech," and the chief of the garbage collectors' syndicate asked the ex-minister for an official apology.

"The minister apologized and it was enough honor for us ... We do not want to give a chance to those who aim to cripple the work of the government," Shehata Miqaddis, head of the the garbage collectors' syndicate, told Xinhua right after the news of the resignation.

Accepting the resignation, the prime minister said the statement of the ex-minister was "no more than a slip of a tongue." Endit