The Misr Al-Qawia Party, the National Coalition to Support Legitimacy (NCSL) and the Press Syndicate have criticised draft amendments to the 2012 constitution proposed by the legal experts’ committee.
The legal experts committee, consisting of 10 legal and constitutional experts, submitted an amended draft of the 2012 constitution, to be further amended by the constituent assembly, comprised of 50 members.
The North Cairo Court ordered the release on Wednesday of former president Hosni Mubarak in the Al-Ahram gifts case after repaying the value of the gifts received, following a trial at Tora Prison.
Mubarak had been accused of unlawfully receiving expensive gifts from state-run Al-Ahram, with the court having previously considered an appeal filed by Mubarak’s defense attorney Farid Al-Deeb, according to state-run Al-Ahram.
The Egyptian presidency received on Wednesday draft constitutional amendments from the judicial committee, which spent one month revising articles from the suspended 2012 constitution, according to a presidency statement.
A decree on 8 July by interim president Adly Mansour ordered that a 10-member judicial committee be formed to propose amendments to the suspended 2012 constitution within thirty days from the date of its formation.
El presidente interino de Egipto, Adli Mansur, ha recibido este martes el borrador constitucional elaborado por un comité técnico y según el cual, en caso de aprobarse, quedarían prohibidos los partidos basados en ideologías religiosas, aunque el Islam seguiría siendo la religión del Estado.
Después de un mes de deliberaciones y revisiones, los diez miembros del comité técnico han finalizado la redacción del nuevo borrador, con el que han modificado la Constitución de 2012, según ha informado el diario egipcio 'Al Ahram'.
Security forces stormed the Cairo protest camps of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi’s supporters in a long-anticipated assault Wednesday that officials said led to almost 280 deaths across Egypt.
In response to the violence, the army-backed interim government imposed a month-long nationwide state of emergency and curfews in Cairo and 13 other provinces.
Authorities said 278 people were killed, including 43 policemen, with many of the deaths in Cairo but with the violence spreading from the capital and claiming lives across the country.
There was no official confirmation of the death toll at Rabaa al-Adawiya, in northeast Cairo, where thousands of Mursi supporters have staged a six-week sit-in that caused the army acute embarrassment since it ousted the elected leader.
A second camp near Cairo University was swiftly cleared in the early morning.
The operation, which suggested that the powerful military had lost patience with persistent protests that were crippling parts of the capital and slowing the political process, began just after dawn with helicopters hovering over the camps.
Egypt's rival political squares hosted annual prayers for Eid Al-Fitr — the holiday that follows the holy fasting month of Ramadan — early Thursday, followed by ongoing celebrations.
In response to calls by Egypt's anti-Morsi Rebel campaign, and several aligned political forces, thousands gathered to attend prayers at the iconic Tahrir Square, followed by pro-military chants.
Both police and military forces were deployed to secure the square.
Egypt's military-backed government has ordered police to end sit-ins by supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in the capital Cairo.
"The cabinet has decided to take all measures necessary to confront these risks and put an end to them," an official said in a televised statement.
The statement termed the continued rallies "a national security threat".
Three top Muslim Brotherhood leaders have also been referred to court on charges of inciting violence.
Catherine Ashton visited Mr Morsi on Monday evening and held two hours of "in-depth" discussions with him.
The location of the meeting was not given, but Mr Morsi has been detained since he was overthrown by the military on 3 July after days of mass protests.
Baroness Ashton's visit comes after more than 70 Morsi supporters were killed in clashes with security forces.
Mohamed Morsi, ex-president of Egypt and a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau, is being investigated on suspicion of treason and conspiracy to murder.
Several lawyers and political activists have filed lawsuits against Morsi, accusing him of coordinating with foreign elements to spread chaos and kill Egyptians during the early days of the 25 January Revolution and during his year in office.
The National Salvation Front (NSF) said millions would take to the streets in Friday demonstrations against terrorism and in support of the roadmap put in place for a constitution and elections.
The NSF condemned the Muslim Brotherhood for surpassing “red lines” including allegedly attempting to create splits and divisions within the ranks of the army and warning of recreating the Syrian crisis in Egypt.
Protests by supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi in the governorates of Qaliubiya, Mansoura and Damietta on Monday escalated to clashes, leaving at least two dead.
Pro-Morsi protesters were reportedly harassed by residents of the areas where protests were held, incidents which soon led to clashes. Tarek Al-Morsi, Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) spokesman, denied that the harassers were local residents.
The transitional period that includes constitutional amendments, parliamentary elections and ends with presidential elections is expected to finish within nine months, said Mostafa Higazy, presidential advisor for political affairs.
In a press conference at the presidential palace on Wednesday, Higazy announced that the roadmap detailed in the constitutional declaration released last week is beginning to come to shape, reported state-run Al-Ahram.
Interim President Adly Mansour presided over the swearing-in Tuesday evening of the transitional cabinet, which is scheduled to function for six months.
In total, 34 ministers were sworn in; General Abdel Al-Sisi will remain as minister of defence as well as being deputy prime minister. He is joined by Amin Al-Mahdi as minister of justice, Reda Mahmoud Hafez as the minister of military production, Nabil Fahmi as the minister of foreign affairs, and Major General Mohammed Ibrahim as the minister of the interior.
The prosecutor’s office issued arrest warrants on Wednesday for Mohamed Badie, the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, and nine other high-level Islamist leaders, on charges of inciting violence.
The arrest warrants are part of ongoing investigations into the Monday clashes in front of the Republican Guards headquarters that took the lives of at least 51, and wounded over 435 pro-Morsi demonstrators.
ElBaradei was initially tipped to lead the cabinet but his nomination was rejected by the Salafist Al-Nour party.
Beblawi now faces the daunting task of trying to reunite a deeply divided country and rescue its battered economy.
The head of the party added that it was still studying ElBaradei's appointment.
The Muslim Brotherhood, meanwhile, is refusing to recognise the caretaker president or any of his decisions.
The Salafi Al-Nour Party announced early Monday its withdrawal from the roadmap proposed by the armed forces following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi.
Nader Bakkar, Al-Nour Party spokesman, said the party has decided on an “immediate withdrawal from all negotiation routes as an initial reaction to the Republican Guard massacre.”
Clashes erupted between pro-Morsi protesters sitting-in at the Republican Guard headquarters and army personnel Monday morning leaving at least 51 killed.
The Muslim Brotherhood refuses to cooperate and acknowledge the “usurped” government appointed after the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi, its Supreme Guide Mohammed Badei said on Friday.
Despite of an arrest warrant issued against him on Thursday, Badei gave a speech at the pro-Morsi sit-in at Raba’a Al-Adaweya at 6:30pm. Security reports had initially indicated that he was detained following the overthrow of Morsi, but the Brotherhood denied his arrest.
