(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Supporters of ousted president Mohamed Mursi are planning to protest in all areas of the country. The "National Alliance to Support Legitimacy" called for the protests and urged demonstrators to protest in subway stations and public squares near mosques, according to the Egypt Independent website.
Meanwhile, a new law approved by the Egyptian cabinet, and currently being reviewed by the president, would ban public protests in Egypt unless demonstrators receive advance permission from the police.
The measure also gives the interior minister and other senior officials the authority to cancel, postpone or change protests, while a third provision allows governors to declare "protest-free zones" around state buildings.
The interim cabinet approved the law last week and sent it to President Adly Mansour for his review. It was approved over the objections of several ministers, including deputy prime minister Ziad Behaa al-Din.
Gamal Eid, the executive director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, said the law was "reminiscent of the security grip imposed under [former president Hosni] Mubarak."
State media reported the measure would have tight restrictions:
"It requires an appeal to be handed to the Interior Ministry before any demonstration.It gives senior police officials the right to cancel, delay or move a protest. It allows for the creation of "protest-free" areas around public institutions," it added.
Tamarod, the grass-roots political faction responsible for organizing the petition campaign that led to the overthrow of Mursi in July by the Egyptian military, reacted to the draft law on Facebook: "Any law that limits the right of peaceful demonstration which Egyptians won in the January 25th and June 30th revolutions is an unjust law. Dealing with non-peaceful protest must be done without a law that is used to restrict or narrow peaceful protests."
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