Home Breaking News Egypt lifts state of emergency and night-time curfew

Egypt lifts state of emergency and night-time curfew

Egypt’s government has decided to lift the state of emergency and the night-time curfew.

The move came two days earlier than expected, after a court ruling.

The state of emergency and the night-time curfew were introduced on August 14 after security forces forcibly ended sit-ins in support of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

The measures had been due to last a month, but the government extended them for two more months on September 12.

The state of emergency and the curfew were lifted with effect from 16:00 local time.

Egypt's government has decided to lift the state of emergency and the night-time curfew

Egypt’s government has decided to lift the state of emergency and the night-time curfew

This followed the ruling by the administrative court that said the decree extending the measures should only be effective for two calendar months.

The army-backed government said it would abide by the verdict.

The state of emergency and the 01:00-05:00 curfew had allowed the authorities to make arrests without warrants and search people’s homes.

Many people had also blamed the curfew for a fall in business in Cairo – at a time when the government was trying to create jobs and revive the economy.

The measures were introduced after hundreds of people died following the clearing of the pro-Morsi camps in the capital.

Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president, was ousted by the army in July following widespread demonstrations against his rule.

Egyptians lived under a state of emergency – which gives extra powers to the security services – for more than three decades, until President Hosni Mubarak was forced from power amid mass protests in 2011.

Roy likes politics. Knowledge is power, Roy constantly says, so he spends nearly all day gathering information and writing articles about the latest events around the globe. He likes history and studying about war techniques, this is why he finds writing his articles a piece of cake. Another hobby of his is horse – riding.