(AFP Photo)
The Qasr Al-Nil Misdemeanour Court acquitted all detainees facing charges on the background of participating in protests on the second anniversary of the Cabinet Clashes.
The Association for Freedom and Thought and Expression said that the 10 were arrested on 16 December and had been detained for four days by prosecution on charges of assembling, assaulting civil servants, possession of melee weapons, obstructing traffic and protesting without notifying the authorities.
Originally, a larger group had been arrested but many were released leaving only this group behind.
On 16 December, approximately 500 people marched from Saad Zaghloul Square to the Cabinet building to commemorate the second anniversary of the 2011 Cabinet Clashes, in which 12 were killed and 815 injured. The protesters marched in downtown Cairo before reaching the cabinet to “defy the Protest Law.”
The protest continued well into the evening and the Ministry of Interior said some individuals started throwing Molotov cocktails, fireworks and stones at the security forces, injuring the soldiers.
Egypt’s Protest Law which was issued on by Interim President Adly Mansour on 24 November stipulates that organisers of any public assembly are required to submit a written notice to the nearest police station with their plans at least three working days ahead.
While the Interior Ministry said that the protest on 16 December was permitted, member of Revolutionary Socialists’ political bureau Haitham Mohamedein who was one of the organisers of the protest insisted that no permit was requested from authorities.
The 2011 Cabinet Clashes ignited when demonstrators organised a sit-in at the Cabinet headquarters protesting the appointment of Kamal Al-Ganzouri as prime minister by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces. The military police attempted to disperse the sit-in, resulting in deadly violence which lasted four days.
