The Ministry of Interior announced Friday evening that 51 alleged Muslim Brotherhood members were arrested during the latest round of post-Friday prayer protests.
The arrests occurred in Cairo, Giza, Fayoum, Al-Baheira, Beni Suef, Minya and Qena according to the Ministry of Interior statement. Six were caught in Ain Shams with two birdshot guns and ten Molotov cocktails.
Twenty-six of the protesters were allegedly caught with fireworks, which protesters often use to shoot at security forces.
One police officer, Captain Khaled Al-Sayed, was wounded in the face by birdshot during a protest dispersal on Haram Street in Giza. He was taken to a hospital to receive treatment.
Protesters were allegedly arrested for breaking the protest law, which requires that protest organisers receive authorisation from the Ministry of Interior before a protest.
The protest law has come under fire recently from both activists, national and international rights groups and foreign governments. The Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon said last week that the law, used to jail prominent activists, needs to be reviewed and revised.
“Separately, the Secretary-General notes that the constitutionality of the law regulating protest will be reviewed by the Supreme Constitutional Court. He recalls that both he and the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concerns that the law could lead to serious breaches of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and needed to be brought in conformity with Egypt’s international human rights obligations,” a statement released on Monday read.
