Judges of Egypt have called for a nationwide strike till the decree is lifted by President Mohammed Morsi.
Morsi granted himself sweeping powers to protect the revolution and made himself immune to judicial oversight. This decree issued on Thursday.
Egypt's highest body of judges, the Supreme Judicial Council said, "Morsi's decree is an unprecedented assault on the independence of the judiciary and its rulings". Courts in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria then announced a work suspension.
This has led to the tensions in the country and strikes have been called nation wide.
Outside the high court building in Cairo, several hundred demonstrators rallied against Morsi, chanting 'Leave! Leave!'
Tear gas was fired by police to disperse protesters.
Nobel Peace laureate ElBaradei too has raised his voice against the issue of Decree by Morsi. In an interview with some prominent journalists he said, "There is a good deal of anger, chaos, confusion. Violence is spreading to many places and state authority is starting to erode slowly".
"We hope that we can manage to do a smooth transition without plunging the country into a cycle of violence. But I don't see this happening without Mr. Morsi rescinding all of this," he added.
ElBaradei said Morsi had become a new pharaoh of Egypt. He and a six other prominent liberal leaders have announced the formation of a National Salvation Front aimed at rallying all non-Islamist groups together to force Morsi to rescind his edicts.
"I am sure they are as worried as everyone else. You cannot exclude that the army will intervene to restore law and order" if the situation gets out of hand," speaking of Egypt's powerful military, El Baradei said.
(with inputs from ANI)
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