Thousands of anti-government protesters have taken to the streets in the Egyptian capital of Cairo to voice their outrage at a law that imposes restrictions on public demonstrations.
During the Saturday demonstration, Egyptian protesters chanted slogans against the military rulers who ousted President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
The demonstrators also called for the release of all the activists arrested since Morsi’s removal.
The new protest rallies were staged after an Egyptian appeals court upheld prison sentences against three of the country’s most prominent political activists on April 7 under the provisions of the protest law adopted by the military-installed government last November.
The three activists were sentenced to three years in prison last December after the military-backed authorities passed a law banning all but police-sanctioned protests in November 2013.
Since then, hundreds of anti-government protesters have been jailed for breaking the law.
In a similar move on April 10, Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab signed a new anti-terror draft law which bans any reference to, or participation in events related to the government of the ousted president.
It also threatens capital punishment and life imprisonment against those who break the law. The new measures have yet to be signed into law by Egypt’s interim President Adly Mansour.
Amnesty International (AI) has slammed the draft law on anti-terrorism as “deeply flawed,” saying such a law is in violation of the right to “free expression.”
Since Morsi’s removal, thousands of the Muslim Brotherhood members as well as the group’s supporters have been arrested and accused of inciting unrest in the country.
MKA/NN/AS
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