Egypt’s president decreed his decisions are above review, cemented the standing of a disputed constitutional committee and ordered the retrial of former regime officials amid criticism he had failed to meet the goals of last year’s uprising.
Mohamed Mursi’s decisions, which included firing the prosecutor-general, were announced on the eve of a planned mass protest after four days of violent demonstrations in Cairo. The demonstrators include youth groups who say Mursi and his government haven’t fulfilled the aims of the protesters who ousted Hosni Mubarak, or brought to justice those responsible for killing protesters.
“Today is the start for truly avenging the blood of the martyrs with which we have been entrusted,” Mursi said in a posting on his official Twitter account.
The decrees, announced by presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said in a televised address, come a day after Mursi was hailed by President Barack Obama and other leaders for his role in realizing a truce between Hamas and Israel. As well as dealing with the Gaza conflict and a renewed push to raise Egypt’s profile in the region, he is contending with unrest at home and an economy battered by months of strikes and protests.
Mursi today pushed from office Prosecutor-General Abdel- Meguid Mahmoud, who had served under Mubarak. Acquittals of Mubarak-era figures triggered mass protests and an unsuccessful bid by Mursi to fire the prosecutor last month. The new president also decreed that no judicial body can disband the assembly writing the constitution, and extended the mandate of the 100-member panel by another two months.
Talaat Ibrahim was named public prosecutor for four years, Ali said.
[h=2]Legal Challenges[/h]The committee has faced legal challenges and been criticised by secular groups who contend it is dominated by Islamists forcing through articles that curtail freedoms and don’t represent the country’s religious minorities.
The moves mark the latest push by the Islamist president to wrest power away from a judiciary that the Muslim Brotherhood, from whose ranks he was drawn, has argued is biased against him, critics say.
“Mursi today usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt’s new pharaoh,” Nobel Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who played a key role in last year’s uprising, said on his Twitter account. “A major blow to the revolution that could have dire consequences.”
Analysts and activists such as Gamal Eid, a human rights lawyer, predicted the decrees could further stoke unrest in the country as it struggles to right a stumbling economy and push ahead with a fitful political transition.
[h=2]‘Fatal Mistake’[/h]“Mursi has committed a fatal mistake by decreeing his decisions cannot be appealed,” Eid said by phone from Cairo. “The move will trigger more anti-government protests and will increase public frustration. The people don’t need another dictator.”
In a nod to the demands of youth groups, Mursi ordered “reinvestigations and retrials in the crimes of killing, attempting to kill, and injuring protesters,” as well as crimes of “terrorism” against demonstrators by officials of the former regime. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison in June for failing to stop the killing.
Mursi also stipulated that any decrees issued by him since taking office and preceding the adoption of a new constitution and the election of a new parliament are not open to appeal and can’t be reversed. New elections are slated to be held after the constitution is finished and approved in a referendum.
“These are revolutionary decisions that came in response to peoples’ demands and will definitely gain popular support,” Mahmoud Ghozlan, a spokesman for the Brotherhood, said by phone. “People have been calling for eliminating corruption and purging the judiciary since Mursi’s appointment. The decisions will bring stability and that’s what people want.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Tarek El-Tablawy in Cairo at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at [email protected]
Enlarge image
[h=3]Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi[/h]
Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said in a posting on his official Twitter account, “Today is the start for really avenging the blood of the martyrs with which we have been entrusted.”
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said in a posting on his official Twitter account, “Today is the start for really avenging the blood of the martyrs with which we have been entrusted.” Photographer: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images
Mohamed Mursi’s decisions, which included firing the prosecutor-general, were announced on the eve of a planned mass protest after four days of violent demonstrations in Cairo. The demonstrators include youth groups who say Mursi and his government haven’t fulfilled the aims of the protesters who ousted Hosni Mubarak, or brought to justice those responsible for killing protesters.
“Today is the start for truly avenging the blood of the martyrs with which we have been entrusted,” Mursi said in a posting on his official Twitter account.
The decrees, announced by presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said in a televised address, come a day after Mursi was hailed by President Barack Obama and other leaders for his role in realizing a truce between Hamas and Israel. As well as dealing with the Gaza conflict and a renewed push to raise Egypt’s profile in the region, he is contending with unrest at home and an economy battered by months of strikes and protests.
Mursi today pushed from office Prosecutor-General Abdel- Meguid Mahmoud, who had served under Mubarak. Acquittals of Mubarak-era figures triggered mass protests and an unsuccessful bid by Mursi to fire the prosecutor last month. The new president also decreed that no judicial body can disband the assembly writing the constitution, and extended the mandate of the 100-member panel by another two months.
Talaat Ibrahim was named public prosecutor for four years, Ali said.
[h=2]Legal Challenges[/h]The committee has faced legal challenges and been criticised by secular groups who contend it is dominated by Islamists forcing through articles that curtail freedoms and don’t represent the country’s religious minorities.
The moves mark the latest push by the Islamist president to wrest power away from a judiciary that the Muslim Brotherhood, from whose ranks he was drawn, has argued is biased against him, critics say.
“Mursi today usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt’s new pharaoh,” Nobel Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who played a key role in last year’s uprising, said on his Twitter account. “A major blow to the revolution that could have dire consequences.”
Analysts and activists such as Gamal Eid, a human rights lawyer, predicted the decrees could further stoke unrest in the country as it struggles to right a stumbling economy and push ahead with a fitful political transition.
[h=2]‘Fatal Mistake’[/h]“Mursi has committed a fatal mistake by decreeing his decisions cannot be appealed,” Eid said by phone from Cairo. “The move will trigger more anti-government protests and will increase public frustration. The people don’t need another dictator.”
In a nod to the demands of youth groups, Mursi ordered “reinvestigations and retrials in the crimes of killing, attempting to kill, and injuring protesters,” as well as crimes of “terrorism” against demonstrators by officials of the former regime. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison in June for failing to stop the killing.
Mursi also stipulated that any decrees issued by him since taking office and preceding the adoption of a new constitution and the election of a new parliament are not open to appeal and can’t be reversed. New elections are slated to be held after the constitution is finished and approved in a referendum.
“These are revolutionary decisions that came in response to peoples’ demands and will definitely gain popular support,” Mahmoud Ghozlan, a spokesman for the Brotherhood, said by phone. “People have been calling for eliminating corruption and purging the judiciary since Mursi’s appointment. The decisions will bring stability and that’s what people want.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Tarek El-Tablawy in Cairo at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at [email protected]
Enlarge image
[h=3]Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi[/h]
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said in a posting on his official Twitter account, “Today is the start for really avenging the blood of the martyrs with which we have been entrusted.”
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said in a posting on his official Twitter account, “Today is the start for really avenging the blood of the martyrs with which we have been entrusted.” Photographer: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images