Egypt's Day of Rage as I saw it - Video

Video compilation of clips from Friday, January 28, 2011 in Cairo's Abdel Moneim Reyad Square, just steps from the now-iconic Tahrir Square.

Mona Eltahawy speaks out about sexual assault by Egypt police

Mona Eltahawy speaks to CNN after being arrested, beaten, and sexually assaulted by Egyptian riot police.

She says, "I am one of many" who have faced such treatment and she wants the world to know the "brutality of the Egyptian police force." She says she finally refused to answer questions of the military investigations on the grounds that she is a civilian, and was released after about 12 hours in custody.

She says the Egyptian military apologized for the actions of the riot police and said they did not know why she was detained.



Mona was arrested sometime before 3:45am on Thursday, November 24, 2011 and released shortly after noon. For more on her ordeal, check her Twitter stream or these articles:
- Egyptian-American journalist arrested in Cairo
- Egyptian authorities release detained Egyptian-American journalist

The heart of an activist

Until a few weeks ago, I knew Alaa Abdel Fattah simply as '@alaa,' a handle and a picture I had followed on Twitter for nearly two years.

I didn't realize until he was detained by Egypt's military prosecution last month that Alaa is the brother of Mona Seif, another Tweep I've followed for nearly two years and only met a few months ago and a staunch supporter of Egypt's No Military Trials for Civilians initiative.

On October 30, 2011 Alaa voluntarily responded to a summons by Egypt's military prosecution. In fact, he didn't just respond, he flew back to Egypt from the United States specifically to attend the summons. Alaa is essentially accused of attacking the military during violent clashes that left 27 dead on October 9 (read my experience that night here).

Alaa then refused to be investigated by the military prosecution on the grounds that he is a civilian, and he was consequently remanded into custody for investigation.

He's still in custody.

I've never met Alaa, but there are some things I know about him through others and through the actions of others. I know that Alaa is willing to fight for a cause he believes in. I know that Alaa is a person to be respected, in part because of the massive outpouring of support after his detention. I know that without people like Alaa, Egypt's January uprising would never have begun or been sustained.

Dozens of Egyptian activists and supporters have changed their user pictures on Twitter to versions of Alaa's avatar; a '#freealaa' campaign has flourished; some activists have changed their Facebook pictures to a picture of Alaa; political activist and long-time public figure Gameela Ismail announced a delay in the launch of her electoral campaign over Alaa's imprisonment; and Alaa's mother has begun a hunger strike.

In interviews posted on YouTube, Alaa is thoughtful and somehow reserved, but determined. The night before he flew back to Egypt to respond to the summons, an interviewer asked him why he was going back, why he didn't just stay in the United States.

"I've personally carried the bodies of comrades who did not run away from bullets. I cannot live with myself if I run away from something much more trivial," said Alaa. "How would I look at myself in the mirror if I hide or run away?"

Alaa's wife, Manal, was nine months pregnant with their first child when her husband responded to the military summons. It's reminiscent of Alaa's early years: his father was imprisoned and tortured as a political detainee.

This video gives you a look into the life of Alaa and his parents; how he was raised to be the man he is. In short, it gives some insight into the heart of an activist who embodies the spirit that inspired and sustained Egypt's January uprising; the determination and strength of spirit that continues to give me hope for Egypt's future:

"The military has thugs," he told me

The hoarse cry came from a man dashing across Cairo’s Abdel Moneim Reyad Square on Sunday night. “The military has thugs! The military has thugs!”

He paused long enough to reiterate the statement to myself and another female journo moving in the opposite direction – “The military has thugs!” – before continuing toward nearby Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Egypt’s January 25 Revolution.

Behind him, a group of military police became clearly visible as they rounded a corner. Among the uniforms were people in plainclothes carrying large sticks and clubs.

The clubs started to swing, and those still in the square ran for cover.

It was around 8pm. The clashes began hours earlier. “This feels like the 28th of January,” someone said, referencing Egypt's 'Day of Rage,' one of the most violent days of the uprising that toppled Egypt’s former regime earlier this year.

The cat-and-mouse game between military police and demonstrators continued into the night as wild rumors spread.

Near the Egyptian Museum, a group of four young people glanced between their cell phones and the scene around them, probably updating Twitter on the situation and their safety.

Twitter is a primary means for activists to keep tabs on each other during demonstrations in Egypt.

Earlier in the evening, the area by the Ramsis Hilton where the military police entered Abdel Moneim Reyad Square was occupied by demonstrators. This was where they carried the wounded from Maspiro, the nearby site of ongoing clashes between Coptic Christian demonstrators, military police and unknown plainclothes persons.

The clashes left at least 26 dead, according to the most recent figures from the Ministry of Health.

Some activists put the number much higher.

Clashes began when unknown persons attacked a Coptic Christian demonstration. When military police  finally intervened it was not to protect the demonstrators, according to eyewitnesses.

Christian demonstrators seeking refuge by the Hilton from the violence and tear gas told me, “The army is killing Christians.”

As the situation around the Hilton intensified, young men directed traffic away from the area. An armed personnel carrier and other vehicles burned, sending a dense black smoke into the air above the Nile.

A fire truck arrived, presumably to put out the fires. It was greeted with stones and rocks, but eventually allowed to pass.

Outside the Hilton, cries of the injured permeated sporadic chants of, “The people want the fall of the musheer,” Egypt’s military ruler, and “Where are our rights?”

One man’s screams faded into dull moans as he was placed on the ground after being carried from Maspiro on a blanket. A group of young men kept the crowd back to give the injured man air, only allowing me, as a photographer, near him, so I could document “what the army did to the Christians.”

A sudden stir in the crowd announced the arrival of Bothaina Kamel, the only woman to announce her candidacy for the Egyptian presidency so far. Wearing a bright orange reflective vest, Bothaina moved quickly through the crowd toward the Nile, the latest location of clashes between military police and demonstrators.

Many Muslims quickly joined their Christian brothers after clashes began. A Coptic man named Nabil told me that Muslims had saved his life twice that night.

Outside the Hilton, one Copt held a string of Muslim prayer beads along with his cross. “Both Muslim and Christian are here,” said another.

“Heard a Muslim guy urging other protesters, ‘let’s head to the front, I’m not gonna let the Christians take a bullet alone,’” tweeted activist Mosa’ab Elshamy. Such poignant moments are reminiscent of the early days of the Egyptian revolution, when Coptic Christians joined hands to protect their Muslim countrymen as they prayed in the streets.

Many Christians were angry, saying they felt they were being targeted. Coptic Christians comprise around 10 percent of Egypt’s population, and often say they are not treated equally to the Muslim majority.

“Christians will live in Egypt forever,” said one Coptic man, angrily blaming the extremist Islamic Salafi trend for being behind attacks against Christians. “They will not make us leave.”

While one man asked repeatedly, “Where is the United Nations?,” another insisted, “We are not asking for international protection.”

A number of activists reported a very different show of solidarity: “I cannot believe it the battle is over and the people who were hitting us from the other side have joined us,” tweeted Lilian Wagdy, an activist on the ground.

A few hours later, popular ‘tweep’ Mahmoud Salem, known on Twitter as ‘Sandmonkey,’ relayed a similar situation. He reported clashes between groups of Egyptians, all in plainclothes, with one side chanting, “The people and the army are one hand” and the other side “Muslims and Christians are one hand.”

Then, he tweeted, “In a very weird moment, both sides started chanting ‘one hand,’ stopped fighting, joined each other into one big marsh.”

At some point, the rumors started to fly, by word of mouth, on Twitter, and in the media.

Among the quickest to spread were claims that U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had announced that the U.S. would send troops to Egypt to protect Christian churches.

While the United States and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo emphatically denied the rumor, it still made the front page of some Egyptian newspapers on Monday morning.

Another rumor that has proven impossible to confirm claimed someone – either thugs or military personnel – threw dead bodies into the Nile. I have been unable to locate an eyewitness to this incident.

“I say again, I saw three military police throw dead bodies in the Nile, and another body was under their feet,” wrote Mohamed Elmoshir on Twitter.

Some rumors were true: shortly before midnight, I witnessed a military soldier shoot live ammunition in Tahrir Square, and videos of military vehicles driving at reckless speeds through crowds of demonstrators quickly appeared on YouTube.

As Monday dawned, Egyptians were angry, scared, saddened, and, perhaps most of all, worried. What would happen next? What did clashes between the army and the people mean for the transitional period? Blame for last night’s events has been placed on everyone from the demonstrators to Salafis to elements of Egypt’s formerly ruling regime to the military to the ubiquitous “foreign hand.”

One image, provided to the AUC Caravan, perhaps best illustrates the divisions and solidarity on both sides of the battle. In it, a uniformed military soldier carries an injured boy down a debris-strewn street. Another boy and a man in civilian clothes follow the soldier.

In the background, military soldiers and civilians stand, motionless.

**A version of this post was originally published at Youm7 English Edition (offline since Jan 2012).

Egypt youth say NO to the SCAF

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has been in charge of Egypt’s administration for 101 days.

Today, Egypt’s young revolutionaries are calling for Egyptians to fight the army-imposed media blackout of the military. They have called on Egyptians to blog, tweet, and post anything which breaks the silence on the military’s violations of human and civil rights. They are trying to create a united front in an attempt to open the scene to frank discussion of the military, and to stop what they see as the military’s escalating violations.

Hundreds of Egyptians have answered the call. Twitter is bursting with tweets and posts tagged with ‘#NoSCAF’ about the military, its violations, and what should happen next.

Activist Mona Seif, one of the first to call for the ‘NO SCAF’ campaign, tweeted early this morning: “Waking up to an internet flooded with posts exposing #SCAF is just amazing.”

“If the SCAF wants to ‘punish’ us for ‘criticizing the military’ and ‘spreading rumors,’ then they will have to arrest hundreds of netizens,” wrote Egyptian activist Ramy Raoof via Twitter.

Journalist and blogger Mohamed Abdelfattah said, “Today the Egyptian blogosphere sends a message: WE ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE MILITARY COUNCIL.” He has also compiled a list of blog posts against the SCAF: as of 2pm, 140 bloggers had written posts against the military council.

“Blog. Tweet. Post. Be Free. Evaluate the #SCAF today. This is being documented,” tweeted Ahmed Abdulhassan.

Indeed, an Al-Jazeera English producer tweeted in the morning that he was compiling an article about today’s campaign. The tweets of Mosa’ab Elshamy are among the tweets he plans to include. Mosa’ab was arrested by the Egyptian army last week and only recently released. His tweets about what he witnessed in custody are poignant, disturbing, and certainly revealing.

Egyptians have entered what is likely to be a long war, of which the fall of the Mubarak regime was only one battle.

It is a war in which the uniforms are ambiguous, observers are constantly switching sides, and the majority of the combatants have no idea what the strategy is, or, indeed, who it is they are fighting.

Many are fighting undefined notions of the “former regime” or the “counter-revolution.”

Among the most ambiguous players on the scene is the Egyptian army. Hailed as saviors by the vast majority of Egyptians when they swept into Cairo on January 28, ending a long 'Day of Rage' of bloody battles between the police and the people, the army was then charged with the country’s administration when former president Hosni Mubarak stepped down on February 11.

Immediately some began to wonder if the military – and its Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) – would ever give up power. They wondered if, in fact, the SCAF would attempt to turn a true people’s revolution into a military coup d’état.

The army has now been in power for 101 days. Each day, mistrust has grown between the people and the army.

Stories of human rights abuses by the army are increasing. Citizens are calling out more frequently to end military trials of civilians. And most of Egypt’s young activists are well aware that Egyptian media is forbidden to write anything about the military without permission.

Yesterday, the SCAF released a statement on its Facebook page – created to communicate with the Egyptian people – saying unidentified websites were publishing false information about the army in an attempt to fuel chaos in the country and to divide the army from the people.

(The fact that the army releases all of its communiqués via Facebook is a story in and of itself.)

Egyptians have faced battle after battle in their fight for a secular, democratic country which will offer a better future – a “New Egypt” – for them and their children.

The war did not begin on January 25, 2011.

For many, it began decades earlier. Human rights lawyer Amir Salem participated in Egypt’s student demonstrations in the 1970s, and was arrested in the same Tahrir Square in which, thirty years later, he watched Egyptians gather by the millions to demand freedom. Salem has been arrested nine times but has tirelessly fought for the rights of prisoners, for activists, and was once the lawyer for Ayman Nour.

Prominent opposition figure Ayman Nour first began warning of the dangers of a continued Emergency Law twenty years ago, when he was a law student. As a young parliamentarian ten years later, he dared the Prime Minister to eat a piece of the rock-hard bread distributed to Egypt’s poor during a bread crisis.

Nour is one of millions of Egyptians who suffered under the hand of Hosni Mubarak: he spent four years in the infamous ‘Torah Prison’ for daring to challenge him.

Now, it is Mubarak’s cronies who are behind the bars of Torah Prison: those businessmen, politicians, and ministers who supported a corrupt regime which drained Egypt of its resources and dignity to provide greater and greater opulence to a smaller and smaller portion of the population. Even Mubarak’s sons are imprisoned.

But the battles are becoming increasingly hazy. Who is on what side? What is the so-called “counter-revolution,” who is behind it, and how can Egyptians unite against it? Everyone from young activists to political figureheads to religious leaders have called for Egyptians to unite together against the ‘counter-revolution’ – and then blamed each other of being part of it.

Egypt's Constitutional Declaration: Full Text

People have been asking me where to find the text of Egypt's constitutional declaration in English, so here it is, straight from the Egyptian government:

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces,

Cognizant of a) the Constitutional Declaration issued on February 13, 2011, b) the outcome of the referendum on the amendments of the Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt held on March 19, the approval of which was announced on March 20, 2011 and c) the statement issued by the Council on March 23, 2011,

Decides the following:

Article 1

The Arab Republic of Egypt is a democratic state, based on citizenship; The Egyptian people are part of the Arab nation and work to achieve comprehensive Arab unity.

Article 2

Islam is the religion of the State, Arabic the official language; the principles of Islamic Sharia (Jurisprudence) are the main source of legislation.

Article 3

Only the people have sovereignty and are the source of all powers; the people exercise and protect sovereignty and safeguard national unity.

Article 4

Citizens may form societies, unions, syndicates and parties in accordance with the law. Societies of a hostile, clandestine or military nature are prohibited as are political activities and political parties based on religion and/or discrimination on account of gender or ethnicity.

Article 5

The economy of the Arab Republic of Egypt is based on promoting economic activities and social justice, safeguarding all forms of ownership and protecting labor rights.

Article 6

Public ownership is preserved, as each and every citizen shall take the duty of its protection according to the law.

Private ownership shall be safeguarded and may not be put under sequestration except in the cases specified in the law and under a court ruling. It may not be expropriated save for the public benefit and against a fair compensation in accordance with the law. The right of inheritance to it is guaranteed.

Article 7

All citizens are equal before the law. They have equal public rights and duties without discrimination on grounds of race, ethnic origin, language, religion or creed.

Article 8

Individual freedom is a natural right and safeguarded and inviolable. Save for the case of being caught red-handed, no person may be arrested, inspected, detained or his freedom restricted or prevented from free movement except under an order necessitated by investigations and preservation of the security of the society.

Such order shall be given by the competent judge or the Public Prosecution in accordance with the provisions of the law.

The law shall determine the period of custody.

Article 9

Any person arrested, detained or his freedom restricted shall be treated in such a manner that preserves his human dignity. No physical or moral harm shall be inflicted upon him.

He may not be detained or imprisoned in places other than those defined by laws regulating prisons.
Any statement proved to have been made by a person under any of the aforementioned forms of duress or coercion or under the threat thereof, shall be considered invalid and futile.

Article 10

Places of residence are sanctified sanctity; they may not be entered or inspected save by causal judicial warrant prescribed by the provisions of the law.

Article 11

The law protects the inviolability of the private life of citizens.

Correspondence, wires, telephone calls and other means of communication are inviolable, confidential and may not be confiscated or monitored save by a causal judicial warrant and for a definite period in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 12

The State guarantees freedom of belief and the free practice of religious rites.

Freedom of opinion is guaranteed. Every individual has the right to express his opinion and to disseminate it verbally, in writing, illustration or by any other means within the limits of the law. Self-criticism and constructive criticism is a guarantee for the safety of the national structure.

Article 13

Freedom of the press, printing, publication and mass media shall be guaranteed. Censorship on newspapers is forbidden. Warning, suspension or abolition of newspapers by administrative means are prohibited. However, in case of declared state of emergency or in time of war, limited censorship may be imposed on newspapers, publications and mass media in matters related to public safety or for the purposes of national security in accordance with the law.

Article 14

No citizen shall be inhibited from residing in some place or be forced to reside in a particular place, except in the cases defined by the law.

Article 15

No citizen shall be deported from or prevented from returning to the country. Handing over political asylum people is prohibited.

Article 16

Citizens have the right to peaceable and unarmed private assembly, without the need for prior notice. Security men shall not attend such private meetings.

Public meetings, processions and gatherings are allowed within the limits of the law

Article 17

Any encroachment upon individual freedom or the inviolability of private life of citizens and/or public rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the law shall be considered a crime, for which criminal and civil lawsuit shall not be forfeited by prescription. The State shall grant a fair compensation to the victim of such encroachment.

Article 18

The imposition, modification or abolition of public taxes cannot be effected except in the cases decreed by law.

No one shall be exempted from their payment except in the cases specified by the law. No one should be required to pay additional taxes or imposts except in the cases specified by law.

Article 19

Penalty shall be personalized. There shall be no crime or penalty except by virtue of the law. No penalty shall be inflicted except by a judicial sentence. Penalty shall be inflicted only for acts committed subsequent to the promulgation of the law prescribing it.

Article 20

A defendant is innocent until proved guilty in legal trial, in which he is granted the right to defend himself. Every person accused of a crime shall be provided with counsel for his defense.

Article 21

The right to litigation is inviolable and guaranteed for all, and every citizen has the right to have access to his natural judge.

The State shall guarantee accessibility of judicature for litigants, and rapid decision on cases. Any provision in the law stipulating immunity of any act or administrative decision from the control of the judicature is prohibited.

Article 22

The right of defense in person or by proxy is guaranteed. The Law shall secure, for financially incapable citizens, means to resort to justice and to defend their rights.

Article 23

Any person arrested or detained shall be informed forthwith of the reasons for his arrest or detention.
He shall have the right to communicate, with whoever he deems fit to inform, and ask for his help in the manner regulated by the law.

He shall be promptly faced with the charges leveled against him.

Any person may lodge an appeal with the courts against any measure taken to restrict his individual freedom.

The law shall regulate the right of appeal in a manner ensuring decision within a definite period; otherwise release is imperative.

Article 24

Sentences shall be issued and enforced in the name of the people. Meanwhile, abstention from or obstruction of enforcing such sentences on the part of the concerned civil servants is considered a crime punishable by law. In such case, a person issued a sentence in his favor, shall have the right to lodge a direct criminal action before a competent court.

Article 25

The Head of State is the President of the Republic. He shall ensure sovereignty of the people, respect for the Constitution and rule of the law, protection of national unity and the social justice and shall tend to the boundaries between authorities in such a way as to ensure that each shall perform its role in national action.

The President assumes the powers provided in Article 56 of the Declaration save items 1 and 2 thereof.

Article 26

The President shall be an Egyptian citizen of Egyptian parentage and shall enjoy all civil and political rights. Neither of the President's parents should be a national of another country. The President should not be married to a non-Egyptian and should be no less than forty years of age (Gregorian calendar).

Article 27

The President is elected by direct secret ballot.

For the purpose of approving a presidential nomination, a nominee should win the endorsement of 30 elected members of Parliament, or 30,000 registered voters from 15 governorates with at least 1,000 endorsements from each of those governorates.

Members of Parliament and voters may not endorse the nomination of more than one candidate for president.

Parties with at least one elected seat in parliament may nominate one of their members in presidential elections.

Article 28

A higher committee under the name the "Presidential Elections Commission" shall supervise the elections starting with opening the door for nominations to announcing the results.
The Commission comprises the President of the Supreme Constitutional Court as chair, and the President of the Cairo Court of Appeals and the oldest deputy presidents of the Supreme Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation and the State Council as members.

The Commission's decisions are final, binding and non-violable by any means and/or authority. The Commission's decisions may not be suspended or abolished. The Commission shall rule on areas within its competences. The Commission's other competences shall be defined by law.

The Presidential Elections Commission is responsible for creating the committees in charge of supervising the ballot and counting the votes as described under Article 39.

Before being promulgated, the draft law on presidential elections shall be submitted to the Supreme Constitutional Court to rule on its constitutionality.

The Court shall return a decision within 15 days. Should the Court decide that an article(s) is unconstitutional, the decision should be effectuated on promulgating the law. Under all conditions, the Court's decisions are binding to all people and all state agencies and should be published in the Official Gazette within three days of issuance.

Article 29

The term of the Presidency is 4 Gregorian years starting from the date of the announcement of the result of the elections.

Article 30

Before exercising his powers, the President shall take the following oath before the People’s Assembly:

"I swear by Allah the Almighty to uphold the republican system with loyalty, to respect the Constitution and law, fully to look after the interests of the people and safeguard the independence and territorial integrity of the motherland".

Article 31

The President shall, within at most 60 days of exercising his powers, appoint one or more vice presidents, the responsibilities of whom the President shall determine. In the case that a vice-president is dismissed from office, the president shall appoint a replacement.

The same qualifications and rules of accountability applicable to the President shall apply to the vice presidents.

Article 32

The members of the People’s Assembly should exceed 350, of whom at least one half shall be workers and peasants elected by direct secret ballot. The definition of the terms "worker" and "peasant" shall be provided by law.

The President of the Republic may appoint a number of members not exceeding ten.

(Article 33)

The People's Assembly undertakes, immediately after its election, the legislative authority and decides the general policy of the state along with the public plan for economic and social development and the State's budget. It also takes over a supervisory role over the executive authority.

(Article 34)

The term of the People's Assembly is five years (Gregorian calendar) as of the date of its first meeting.

(Article 35)

The Shura Council is formed of a number of members set by the law provided that it should not be less than 132 members with two thirds elected through direct secret balloting, with half of them at least from workers and peasants. The President of the Republic appoints the remaining third.
The law sets the electoral constituencies of the Shura Council.

(Article 36)

The term of the Shura Council membership is six years.

(Article 37)

The Shura Council takes over, immediately after its election, studying and proposing what it deems a guarantee for maintaining national unity and social peace along with protecting the basic potentials of the society and its high values, rights, freedoms and public duties. The council should be consulted in the following:

1- The draft of the general plan for social and economic development.

2- Draft laws that are referred to it by the president of the republic.

3- All issues referred to it by the president of the republic that are related to the general policy of the state or its foreign and Arab affairs strategy.

The council briefs the President of the Republic and the People's Assembly on its opinion regarding any of these issues.

(Article 38)

The law regulates the right to candidacy to the People's Assembly and Shura Council in accordance with a specific electoral system set by the law. It is permissible that this system includes a minimum of women participation in the two houses.

(Article 39)

The law sets the preconditions that must be met by the members of the People's Assembly and Shura Council and specifies the regulations of election and referendum.

A higher commission, of complete judicial formation, undertakes supervision of the election and referendum starting with registration in the electoral lists until the announcement of the results. This all be undertaken in accordance with the law. Polling and vote counting are carried out under supervision of members of the judicial authorities who are named by the higher councils of these authorities and a decision should be issued by the higher commission on their selection.

(Article 40)

The Court of Cassation is the body in charge of verifying the membership of the People's Assembly and Shura Council MPs. Challenges are submitted to the court within a period that should not exceed 30 days since the announcement of the election results and the court settles the issue within 90 days later. The membership is considered null and void since the two houses are briefed about the court ruling.

(Article 41)

Measures for People's Assembly and Shura Council elections start within six months of announcing the operation of this declaration.

The Shura Council undertakes its powers with its elected members.

The President of the Republic undertakes, immediately after his election, completing the formation of the council with appointing one third of its members to complete the remaining term of the council in line with the law.

(Article 42)

Every member of the People's Assembly and Shura Council is sworn-in before his respective body before undertaking his task as follows:

"I swear by Allah the Almighty to honestly uphold the safety of the homeland and the republican system and to look after the people's interests and to respect the Constitution and the Law".

(Article 43)

Every member of the People's Assembly and Shura Council is not allowed, during his membership term, to purchase or hire any of the State's property. He is not also allowed to sell or rent to any State property any of his own property or have any form of transaction with it. He is not allowed to sign with the State any contract in his capacity as a supplier or contractor.

(Article 44)

Membership of any of the People's Assembly and Shura Council MPs should not be dropped except after losing a vote of no-confidence, not meeting one of the preconditions for the membership or losing the capacity of a worker or peasant on which he was elected or if he did not deliver the requirements of his membership. A decision on dropping his membership should be issued by a majority of two thirds of the members.

(Article 45)

In case of being caught red-handed in a crime, no criminal measures should be taken against any of the People's Assembly and Shura Council members unless after a permission from the body to which he belongs. In case the council or the assembly is not in session, permission is obtained from the speaker and the council or the assembly is notified at its first session.

(Article 46)

The judicial authority is independent and it is undertaken by courts with their various types and instances. Court rulings are issued in accordance with the law.

(Article 47)

Judges are independent and could not be relieved of their posts. The law regulates bringing them to account and they have no other higher authority in their rulings except the law. No any other authority is allowed to interfere in the cases or justice affairs.

(Article 48)

The State Council is an independent judicial authority and assumes settling administrative disputes in disciplinary lawsuits. The law specifies its other powers.

(Article 49)

The Supreme Constitutional Court is an independent judicial authority per se and is assigned, barring any other bodies, with judicial supervision on the constitutionality of laws and regulations. It undertakes interpreting legislative texts. All this is undertaken in line with the law. The law specifies other tasks of the Court and regulates measures that should be followed before it.

(Article 50)

The law specifies the judicial authorities, their jurisdictions, means of their formation and the preconditions and measures that should be followed for selecting their members.

(Article 51)

The law regulates martial judiciary, specifies its jurisdiction in accordance with the constitutional principles.

(Article 52)

Court sessions are to be held on public unless the court decides that a session is held behind closed doors, taking into consideration law and order or common rules. In all cases, the ruling should be announced in an on-public session.

(Article 53)

The Armed Forces is a public property and its mission is protecting the homeland and its territories and security. No agency or group is allowed to set up military or paramilitary formation. Defending the nation and its territories is a sacred mission and drafting is obligatory in accordance with the law. The law specifies the preconditions required for serving and promotion in the Armed Forces.

(Article 54)

A body named "The National Defense Council" should be set up under the chairmanship of the president of the republic. It is entrusted with looking into issues related to means of protecting the country and its safety. The law specifies its other powers.

(Article 55)

The police apparatus is a regular civil authority that is undertaking its job in the service of the people and guarantees their safety and security. It maintains law and order and public rules in line with the law.

(Article 56)

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces runs the affairs of the State. Under this framework it undertakes the following authorities:

1- Legislation

2- Approving the general policy of the State and the State's budget and supervising its implementation.

3- Selecting the appointed members of the People's Assembly.

4- Convoying the People's Assembly and Shura Council ordinary session and its adjourning and convening an extraordinary session and its adjourning.

5- The right to issue laws or objecting them.

6- Representing the State internally and externally and signing international agreements and treaties and they are considered part of the legal system of the State.

7- Appointing the prime minister and his deputies, the ministers and their deputies and relieving them from their posts.

8- Appointing civil and military civil servants and political representatives and relieving them in line with the law and approving political representatives of foreign countries

9- Giving amnesty from a punishment or commuting it. Complete pardon should not be extended except with a law.

10- Other powers and capacities of the president of the republic in accordance with the laws and regulations.

The council has the right to entrust its chief or any of its members to undertake any of its tasks.

(Article 57)

The Cabinet and ministers undertake the executive authority and the Cabinet in particular is allowed to exercise the following powers:

1- Participating with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in outlining the general policy of the State and overseeing its implementation in line with the laws and republican decrees.

2- Steering, coordinating and following up activities of the ministries and their affiliate bodies and public agencies and institutions.

3- Issuing administrative and executive decisions in line with the laws and regulations and following up their implantation.

4- Outlining draft laws, regulations and decisions.

5- Drawing up the draft of the State's budget.

6- Outlining the draft of the State's general plan.

7- Signing agreements on loans and extending them in accordance with the constitutional principles.

8- Following up the implementation of laws and preserving the State's security and protecting the citizens' rights and the State's interests.

(Article 58)

A said minister is not allowed, while in office, to undertake any other freelance job or financial or industrial activity. He is not also allowed to buy or hire any of the State's property or sell or rent to it any of his own property or make any related transaction.

(Article 59)

The President of the Republic, announces after consulting the Cabinet, a state of emergency in accordance with the law. This announcement should be referred to the People's Assembly within the following seven days to decide on it. In case the announcement is made while the assembly is not in session, the assembly should convene immediately to decide on the issue while taking into consideration the date mentioned in the previous paragraph. If the People's Assembly is dissolved, the issue is referred to the new assembly at its first meeting. The declaration of the state of emergency should be approved by majority of the members. In all cases the declaration of the state of emergency should not be maintained for a period of time that exceeds six months and should not be extended except after an approval by the people in a public referendum.

(Article 60)

Non-appointed members of the People's Assembly and Shura Council are to meet at a joint meeting at an invitation from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces within six months of their election to establish a constituent assembly of 100 members to take over outlining a draft for a new constitution of the country in a date that should not exceed six months since the formation of the constituent assembly. The blueprint is to be referred, within 15 days of its writing, to the people in a public referendum. The constitution is to be effective since the announcement of approval by the people in the referendum.

(Article 61)

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces remains exercising its powers specified in this declaration until the People's Assembly and Shura Council undertake their powers and until the election of a president of the republic and undertaking his job.

(Article 62)

All rulings approved by laws and regulations prior to this constitutional declaration remain valid and in force while they must not be canceled or amended in accordance with rules and measures mentioned in this declaration.

(Article 63)

This declaration is published in the official Gazette and be effective the second day of its publication.

Egyptian recounts being tortured by the army

23-year-old Rami Essam was tortured by the Egyptian army on March 9. The following is his testimony, originally posted on a Facebook note and later translated by Alive in Egypt. Rami is known for writing The Tahrir Song, which can be seen here.

My name is Rami Issam, 23 years old

I was in Tahrir Square with the rest of the protestors and demonstrators on Wednesday. March 9 At approximately 5 pm and a half we were surprised when the army along with a large group of armed civilians attacked the sit-in with bricks and stones. Alongside each other, they started breaking the tents, cutting the signs/banners, attacking all who are inside the circle with sticks and then started to arrest demonstrators. I was dragged by a group of soldiers beside the museum and was handed to Officers who then tied my hands and my feet.

They began to kick my body and face, and hit my back and feet with sticks, whips, pips, wires, and hoses.
Afterwards, they got an Electric detonator, the same kind that was used in the demonstrations and started electrifying different places in my body – with one device at first, then with more than one device at the same time. The military officers would leave me, throw stuff at my back, step on me, and throw shoes at my face. They cut my hair (It was long), and finally they put my face in the dirt and then filled my body with dust.

Rami recounts his testimony in the following video. Parts of the video are GRAPHIC, viewer discretion is advised.

Who, exactly, is currently running Egypt?

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was charged with the administration of Egypt when former president Hosni Mubarak stepped down on February 11, 2011. So for right now, they're the ones running the country. But who are they, exactly? This great chart, put together by The Arabist, explains:

To view the full-size image, go here: http://www.arabist.net/storage/uploads/SCAF.pdf

Will Egyptians forgive the army's mistakes?

Egyptians love and respect their armed forces. Ever since the Egyptian army reclaimed the Sinai Peninsula from Israel in 1973, the army has been held in high regard by the people.

When military tanks rolled into Cairo on the evening of January 28, they were greeted with cheers, kisses, and flowers. On that Friday, they were received as saviors from the brutality of Egypt’s hated Central Security Forces, who for four days had attempted to put down the Egyptian uprising by using force against unarmed demonstrators. Finally, the army had arrived.

As demonstrations continued in Tahrir Square, tanks were covered with men, women, and children waving the Egyptian flag. Army personnel were greeted with smiles across the city, and they remained true to their word: they did not use violence against the demonstrators.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was charged with the country’s administration on February 11, when Hosni Mubarak resigned from the presidency after thirty years in power. For the most part, Egypt’s people approved. There was some resignation, but the military is one of the few institutions most Egyptians trust.

Around the time of Mubarak’s resignation, there were whispers that the army was detaining people and holding them in the Egyptian Museum, located on the edge of Tahrir Square. The news stirred some talk, but it soon died down.

Over the past few days, however, the army’s relationship with the people has been tested. On Friday night, military police surrounded demonstrators outside the Egyptian parliament in downtown Cairo and instructed journalists to leave. In Tahrir Square, the army took down tents and chased demonstrators from the square with sticks and tasers.

Egyptians were outraged.

The incidents took place well after midnight, around 2am. “Why are they surrounding us, civilians, with weapons?!” asked Gigi Ibrahim, a young activist who has become a recognized and semi-permanent face in Tahrir Square. “The army is the same as the Central Security, just in different clothes,” wrote angry Egyptians on Twitter. Comparing the highly respected army to the hated and feared security forces shows how deeply shaken Egyptians were by the army’s actions.

It was a severe blow to their faith in the armed forces.

The next morning, cafes were buzzing with the news, as were social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Some argued that the army was trying to enforce the curfew – which should run from midnight to 6am, and which demonstrators have mostly ignored – but had gone about doing so the wrong way. Some said the army was unused to dealing with civilians, others said its actions were inexcusable.

On Saturday night, dozens of groups of friends sat in plastic chairs drinking tea or Turkish coffee around small tables at El Boursa, a group of cafes in the financial district in downtown Cairo. Many were discussing the recently announced constitutional amendments, but the discussion inevitably turned to the incident with the army.

“What happened last night is very bad,” commented an elderly artist who had been an activist in his youth. Behind his glasses, his eyes were troubled.

Haitham, a young activist and member of the al-Ghad liberal party, was also concerned. “How could this happen?” he asked.

Many were worried about the incident, fearing it might be the beginning of a new policy of action by the military but hoping it wasn’t. As worrying as the events of Friday night were, many Egyptians wanted to believe the army’s actions were a mistake, and that the army was still on their side. On Saturday afternoon, the army released a statement on its Facebook page apologizing for the incident and saying some people were trying to undermine to goals of the revolution.

Some Egyptians were willing enough to accept the statement, but others remained wary.

The army must be extremely careful in both its actions and its image during this critical time in Egypt, because the people’s faith in the army is just as vital as sincerity on the part of the army if the transition to democracy is to be achieved. If the people’s trust in the army is severely shaken, their trust in the process facilitated by the army will be as well.

Already another video has begun circulating on Facebook and YouTube, showing a group of men detained by the army in Port Said. One man, blindfolded with his hands tied behind his back, is prodded by a soldier with a stick-like taser. Should similar evidence continue to surface, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is going to have a major problem on its hands.

Egyptians seem willing to forgive the army once, but they may not do so twice.

** This post was originally published as an op-ed in Bikya Masr

Egypt’s Revolution: A victory embodied by the Egyptian spirit

No one expected that peaceful protests and perseverance could topple the third-longest ruler in Egyptian history – but they did, and in less than three weeks.

What’s more, Egyptians won their victory as a people, not as a mass following a leader. Throughout history there have been various peaceful revolutions, but each had a figurehead: Nelson Mandela in South Africa, Gahndi in India, Martin Luther King in the Civil Rights movement in the United States. Each a worthy cause with a worthy leader.

Many images from the last nineteen days will be recorded in history: Egyptians chanting ‘peaceful, peaceful’ before being attacked by State Security; armored trucks turning water cannons on demonstrators as they prayed; Christian Egyptians surrounding their Muslim brothers, protecting them as they prayed; millions of people gathered in Tahrir – Liberation – Square.

These are the images of a people long known as friendly and hospitable, who have shown the world how deeply the Egyptian spirit runs.

In the early days of the revolution, for every young man who wanted to throw a stone at State Security forces there were five others to stop him. They would not instigate violence, but at a point demonstrators did retaliate: Police shot tear gas at demonstrators. The people kicked it away, threw it back, or tried to put it out. Police threw stones. Demonstrators threw them back. Police shot rubber bullets at demonstrators. Demonstrators set police vans on fire.

Even so, the overwhelming desire among the people was for everything to be peaceful. When State Security withdrew from Cairo on January 28, the people did not chase them out. On the contrary, I witnessed some demonstrators go to them and congratulate them, sharing the victory.

In less than three weeks Egyptians shattered the wall of fear which had kept them silent for decades. The wall had been cracked already, and the foundation was a bit unstable, but until January 25 that wall still stood. On the evening of January 25 I stood in Tahrir Square as tens of thousands of Egyptians gathered there for the first time, giddy with excitement.

I spoke with a lawyer who had helped found the human rights movement in Egypt in the 1970s, and had been part of the student demonstrations in 1973 and 1977. “I was here in Tahrir in 1977 and I was arrested for that demonstration,” he told me. “And now I am here again and I see all these young people, the age of my son and my daughters.” For him, as for many others, it was an emotional moment.

Destroying that ‘culture of fear,’ as I once heard it called, is one of the single most important victories of Egypt’s revolution. Whatever happens next, Egyptians now know that they can go to the streets and demand their rights.

So, what happens next? This is the question both Egyptians and the world have been asking for nineteen days. Hosni Mubarak, against all odds, is gone. What now?

Many have expressed the fear of a power vacuum. The military is in control, but that makes some uneasy. Others fear the Muslim Brotherhood will take over and impose some version of Islamic rule. Some of the fears are valid, some misplaced, but all seem to have overlooked the most important thing Egyptians have taught themselves and the world over the past nineteen days: Egyptians can take care of themselvevs.

Egyptians can take care of themselves. When the police pulled out of the city, Egyptians took it upon themselves to safeguard their homes and their history. They locked arms in front of the Egyptian Museum to protect it, and when thugs broke in from the roof the people quickly arrested them and turned them over to the army.

Within hours of the disappearance of security guards and traffic police, citizens organized road blocks, checkpoints, and neighborhood watch groups – and all without access to the internet or mobile phones.

Committees were organized to clean the streets and pick up garbage. People took it upon themselves to set up makeshift clinics in Tahrir Square and to bring food, water, and blankets to distribute to the people demonstrating there 24 hours a day.

Egypt did not fall into chaos, and did not fall for the rumors the government was trying to spread. In places where there was violence and looting, the people knew it was government-hired thugs and prisoners who mysteriously escaped from prisons who were causing trouble: it was not the people themselves.

The regime tried to force the people to choose between security and liberty and the people, in true Egyptian fashion, made their own option. They chose both. And it will not be quick or easy, but with more of the perseverance and compassion Egyptians have embodied in the last three weeks, they will keep both.