The trial of 24 activists on charges of holding an illegal protest has started in an Egyptian courst this Sunday, DPA cites an independent newspaper al-Masry al-Youm as saying.
The defendants are also charged with damaging public and private property, possessing explosives and assaulting police. They were arrested last week at a rally held in Cairo denouncing the anti-protest law.
The defendants, who appeared before the Cairo Misdemeanour Court, chanted anti-government slogans during the session, al-Masry al-Youm reported. The court said the trial would resume on September 13, ordering the accused to remain in police custody.
They include a sister of prominent pro-democracy campaigner Alaa Abdel-Fattah, who was sentenced earlier this month to 15 years in prison on charges of staging an unauthorized protest and attacking a police officer.
In November, the military-backed government adopted a law requiring organizers to give three days notice to police before holding demonstrations. It granted law enforcement agents the power to ban any rally deemed a threat to public safety.
Several pro-democracy activists have since been jailed for holding illegal protests. Critics say the law is aimed at gagging political dissent.
Authorities argue it is necessary as a means to curb the violent protests that have hit Egypt since the army deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July 2013. Ex-army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, who became president this month, defended the law in a recent TV interview.
No comments:
Post a Comment