Photo Credit: Sabry Khaled/AP
Following the introduction of the new and controversial protest law that restricts the demonstrators ability to easily organize, the Egyptian police cracked down on protesters violating the law initially using water-cannons to try to disperse the protesters. However, Kareem Fahim reports the the police turned violent, “beating, sexually harassing and detaining” demonstrators including some of Egypt’s most prominent human rights activists. Fahim added, “at least 13 members of a constitutional drafting committee had said they were suspending their participation,” as a result of the crackdown.
The Associated Press reports that activist Mona Seif, who was among the female protesters detained and released later, said that protesters were “dragged, beaten up, pushed inside (police) trucks by force” before being taken to the desert and released. Seif was among 24 reportedly detained by the authorities. In addition, authorities ordered the arrest of Alaa Abdel-Fatah, a prominent Egyptian blogger and activist, and Ahmed Maher, head of the April 6 Movement, for “inciting protesters to violate the law,” after they took part in the demonstrations outside parliament according to the state news agency MENA.
Al-Jazeera quotes Maher calling for the laws repeal and suggesting, “Even under Mubarak we could hold protests.” Amnesty International mirrored Maher’s sentiments, indicating that the law was a “serious setback that poses a grave threat to freedom of assembly and gives security forces a free rein to use excessive force, including lethal, against demonstrators.”
On Monday, following the announcement of the new protest law, the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State Jen Psaki issued a statement also expressing concern over “the potential effects of the new demonstrations law on peaceful assembly in Egypt,” and noting that the U.S. shares “the view of Egyptian civil society representatives that this law, which imposes restrictions on Egyptians’ ability to assemble peacefully and express their views, does not meet international standards and will not move Egypt’s democratic transition forward.”