CAIRO: Egypt to lift a three-month state of emergency and curfew, two days earlier than expected, two government sources and a security source said. Army-backed authorities announced the nightly curfew on August 14, when security forces forcibly ended the two main sit-ins by supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in Cairo, prompting waves of violence in which hundreds of people have been killed.
The government’s decision, the security source said, came after a court ruling that the state of emergency, that includes the curfew from 1am to 5am, expired yesterday. The cabinet said in a statement it was “committed to execute the court ruling and is waiting to receive a copy of the ruling to execute it”.
Hundreds of pro-Mursi supporters have been staging almost daily protests against the army since they deposed him in July. Egyptian authorities have arrested thousands of Islamist activists and Mursi supporters in the past three months.
Many blamed the curfew, which initially started at 7pm but has been reduced over the weeks, on dampening trade in central Cairo at a time when the government is desperately trying to create jobs and boost an economy that has been badly hit by the turmoil.
The emergency and curfew had been due to last a month from August 14, but the government extended it for two more months on September 12. “The court argued that since the extension announcement was on September 12 then the expiry date should be Tuesday not Thursday November 14,” a judiciary source said. Police yesterday arrested a former minister under Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, officials said, as authorities press a months-long crackdown on the deposed leader’s supporters. Bassem Ouda, who served in Mursi’s government as minister of supply and internal trade, was arrested after being found hiding in a soap factory.
Meanwhile, Al Ahly football club suspended forward Ahmed Abdel Zaher from next month’s FIFA Club World Cup for celebrating a goal with a salute in support of Islamists. Agencies
