CAIRO - Egypt appointed on Wednesday judge Ahmed al-Zend, head of the country's powerful Judges' Club, as justice minister to replace his predecessor who has recently resigned over anti-poor statements regarded by many as "racist", official MENA news agency reported.

Zend is known for his sharp criticism of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi that he always described them as "birds of darkness" even during Morsi's one-year rule.

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

Egypt is currently holding mass trials for thousands of Brotherhood members and affiliates over charges varying from murder to belonging to the "terrorist" Brotherhood group.

Morsi, along with more than 100 others, has recently been handed a death sentence by a criminal court, and his case has been referred to the Mufti for his non-binding Islamic legal opinion on execution over their role in a mass jailbreak during the 2011 uprising that toppled ex-leader Hosni Mubarak.