Ten members of the panel drafting Egypt’s new constitution suspended work Tuesday after authorities arrested several protesters, including a few prominent activists, a committee member said.
Ten members of the panel drafting Egypt's new constitution suspended work Tuesday after authorities arrested several protesters, including a few prominent activists, a committee member said.
About 60 protesters were arrested for staging what officials said were unauthorised demonstrations, referring to a disputed new law that requires protest organisers to give three days' written notice to authorities.
Police broke up their protest by using water cannon, in the first implementation in Cairo of powers given to them by the law on demonstrations enacted at the weekend.
Hoda El-Sadda, a senior member of the 50-member panel, told AFP she and nine others had "suspended work after the arrest of protesters".
As a result, the panel suspended its work for the day, but adjourned its session to Wednesday morning, television reports said.
Dozens of protesters were demonstrating in front of the Shura Council, where the constitution panel sits, against an article in the revised basic law that allows the military to try civilians in certain cases, a security official said, when police used water cannon and made arrests.
Another panel member, Khaled Youssef, also criticized authorities for arresting the protesters as he suspended his work on the committee.
"What is happening is threatening the future of our country because this committee of 50 faces risk of exploding. This committee is the cornerstone of the road map," Youssef said on state television, referring to the transitional plan outlined by Egypt's interim rulers after they came to power following the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.
The road map envisages that a new constitution, a new parliament and a new president should be in place by the summer of 2014.
"It was a peaceful demonstration and those who have been arrested are all known in Egypt. They were not violent, and we are here to put together a constitution that guarantees freedom to Egyptian people," Youssef said.
