For exposing cracks in the Egyptian justice system, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney is warned by Cairo authorities and threatened with arrest.

Recently married to Hollywood actor George Clooney, the British lawyer had bashed the system in a February 2014 report compiled in behalf of the International Bar Association where she suggested an end to the government practice of selecting judges for particular cases.

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The report was prepared before Mrs. Clooney became involved in the case of the three Al-Jazeera journalists accused of helping the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Peter Greste, Baher Mohamed, and Mohamed Fahmy have already spent more than a year in incarceration.

"When I went to launch the report, first of all they stopped us from doing it in Cairo...

"They said, 'does the report criticise the army, the judiciary, or the government?' We said 'well, yes'. They said 'well then, you're risking arrest'," said Mrs. Clooney to The Guardian.

She pointed out that the same flaws identified in the report led to her clients' conviction: "That recommendation wasn't followed, and we've seen the results of that in this particular case where you had a handpicked panel led by a judge who is known for dispensing brutal verdicts."

She was referring to the controversial Mohamed Nagy Shehat, the shades-wearing Egyptian judge who sentenced the journalists in June of 2014 to a maximum of ten years in prison. Shehat was the same judge who sentenced 188 people to death in a mass trial.

Meanwhile, Mr. Clooney took a backseat role as he comforted his wife after the arrest warning. Mrs. Clooney had revealed the threat while the couple was spending the holidays in Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

The pair was seen relaxing with friends and family in a bar beneath beach umbrellas. Mr. Clooney was pictured kissing and embracing his wife who wore a bright, yellow dress. It was a welcome respite for the human rights lawyer recharging for a challenging year ahead.

TagsAmal Clooney, georger clooney, Egypt, Al Jazeera, peter, greste, baher mohamed, mohamed fahmy