Egyptian judge defends judiciary system's independence

The Head of the Appeals Court in Egypt, has defended the judiciary system's independence after an Egyptian court sentenced 528 supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi to death on Monday.

In an interview with BBC Arabic in Cairo, Ahmed Midhat El-Maraghy said that "the court has the ultimate say in assessing the punishment and no one can interfere with that".

He also said that if there was any mistake, the Appeal Court would overturn the ruling.

Despite international criticism of how the trial was conducted, he added that the judges' decisions were not influenced by political matters or circumstances outside the case.