Court
rules to lift three-month-old state of emergency but curfew to remain as
military says it awaits executive order
An
Egyptian court has ordered an end to the state of emergency, two days ahead
of schedule and three months after it was imposed during a crackdown
on protesters supporting ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
The
cabinet said in a statement it would respect the ruling but would wait for
official notification from the court before implementing it.
The
state of emergency, accompanied by a night time curfew, had been scheduled to
expire on Thursday.
It was imposed after
a deadly crackdown by security forces on protest camps set up by supporters
of Morsi, who was overthrown by the military on July 3 following mass rallies
against his rule.
The state of the emergency allowed the
authorities to make arrests without warrants and gave security officials the
right to search people's homes.
The end of the state of emergency would
mean the end of the 01:00-05:00 curfew also in place.
Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, in Cairo, said
military officials there said they had not yet received an executive order
to lift the curfew.
"They said they have to hear something
from the prime minister before they lift it," our correspondent said.
Ongoing protests
The court decision comes despite the
continued protests in different parts of the country.
On Tuesday, student supporters of
Morsi rallied at the university in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura. Police
fired tear gas to disperse protesters, witnesses said.
Egypt has seen a wave
of demonstrations and violence since the army-led overthrow of Morsi.
Hundreds have been killed, mostly Morsi
supporters, as well as about 100 security officers.
Morsi has been held in a secret location
since his removal, and was transferred to a high-security prison in the
Mediterranean port city of Alexandria after the opening session of his
trial on November 4.
He has so far declined legal
representation and wanted to defend himself.
Morsi's son said his
father was meeting on Tuesday with a team of lawyers who
sought to defend him in his ongoing trial on charges of inciting murder.
The deposed leader, who has not yet agreed
to let the team represent him, wanted to discuss with them taking legal
action against others, his son said.
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Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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