Court bans protesting in cabinet vicinity

Wednesday 11-01-2017 PM 03:47
Court bans protesting in cabinet vicinity

Police man in front of the Interior Ministry headquarters in Cairo - REUTERS

CAIRO, Jan 11 (Aswat Masriya) - Court of urgent matters decided on Wednesday to ban protests in front of cabinet headquarters. 

It also decided to transfer all protests away from the vicinity of the cabinet and transfer it to the Fostat public park instead.

This comes few days ahead of a scheduled protest on Saturday against the cabinet transferal of Tiran, Sanafir maritime demarcation agreement to the parliament. 

Lawyer Tarek Nageada stated earlier that the Sayeda Zeinab police station had already received the protest notification, date, and place.

The interior ministry previously filed a lawsuit calling for the ban of protesting in front of the cabinet headquarters claiming it obstructs traffic, and incites riot. 

The lawsuit called for transferring the protests to the Fostat public park instead to accommodate the number of protesters.

Another protest against the demarcation agreement was fiercely dispersed by security forces in early January in the vicinity of the press syndicate. Twelve of the protesters were detained for 15 days pending investigations.

They were charged with, inter alia: road blocking, demonstration power, and illegal assembly.

The controversial maritime demarcation agreement was signed in early April 2016 during the King Salman bin Abdulaziz visit to Cairo. The agreement grants Saudi Arabia the sovereignty over two Red Sea islands; Tiran and Sanafir.

Former interim President Adli Mansour issued the protest law in 2013 to regulate peaceful assembly. The law has long been the epicentre of wide criticism by domestic and international human rights organisations which say it violates international standards for peaceful protests.

 

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