Eurasia Press & News
An Egyptian court ruled a three-month state of emergency be lifted on Tuesday, a step that may help the army-backed government restore a semblance of normality after the military ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
But as emergency rule was ordered to end, the government edged a step closer to passing a law on demonstrations that the opposition says could be a new way to curb protests.
The government imposed emergency and nightly curfews on August 14, when security forces forcibly dispersed two Cairo sit-ins by Morsi supporters, touching off the worst domestic bloodshed in Egypt’s modern history.
The court ruled the state of emergency had ended at 4 pm (1400 GMT) on Tuesday, two daysearlier than expected. The government said in a statement it was committed to implementingthe court ruling and was awaiting a copy of the decision to execute it.
It would mean an end to nightly curfews that have choked economic life, although security forces would not lift the curfew until formally told to do so by the government, a security official said. The curfew now stretches from 1 am to 5 am, apart from Fridays, when it begins at 7 pm.
