News Analysis: Egypt's anti-protest law remains constitutional despite court's partial disapproval

Egypt's controversial anti-protest law remains constitutional despite the court's disapproval of one of its articles and the resulting limitation of the police authorities, said Egyptian legal experts.

On Saturday, the Supreme Constitutional Court, Egypt's top court, ruled Article 10 of the 2013 anti-protest law, which gives the interior ministry the authority to deny protest requests, as "unconstitutional."

However, the court upheld the other three debated articles, including one that encourages a minimum two-year jail term and a fine of 50,000 Egyptian pounds (about 2,800 U.S. dollars) to whoever violates the law.

STILL CONSTITUTIONAL

"When an article is not the bone structure of a law, its unconstitutionality does not ruin the whole law," said Tarek al-Awadi, head of State of Law Support Center and one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit challenging the law.

"To illustrate, the court had also to reject the second item of Article 10 as unconstitutional after it rejected the first item because they are interrelated, but Article 10 in general does not affect the entire law," the lawyer told Xinhua.

The main difference is that under Saturday's ruling the Egyptian police will no longer have the authority to ban protests provided that the Interior Ministry is informed in advance and the protests remain peaceful, according to legal experts.

The law was issued in late 2013 by former interim President Adly Mansour at a time of constant clashes between supporters of the currently-blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group and security personnel following the military overthrow of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and the later crackdown on his loyalists.

In Jan. 2015, the Administrative Court decided to suspend its consideration of the appeal against the anti-protest law filed by human rights lawyers including a former presidential candidate, until the Constitutional Court determines its constitutionality.

Since the Constitutional Court rulings are final, the verdict actually protects the law from any further appeals and puts an end to all the related legal wraggling.

In a national youth conference in October, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi promised to seek an amendment of the anti-protest law. He later issued a presidential pardon to release 82 young people, mostly university students, jailed over protests or opinions.

PRISONERS' PROSPECT UNCERTAIN

The debatable law entitled the police to crack down on people from thousands of Morsi's supporters to all the opposition of the new military-oriented administration including anti-Islamists, leading to the imprisonment of hundreds of students and liberal youth activists such as Ahmed Maher, head of April 6 Youth Movement that spearheaded the 2011 uprising which toppled long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak.

Criticized by local and international human rights groups, the law has been seen as a tool to limit freedom in a country seeking transition to democracy after witnessing two uprisings that removed two heads of state in less than 30 months from 2011 to 2013.

"Today's court order will not serve the jailed youth activists as it does not nullify the penal articles in the law," Awadi lamented, stressing that the only "gain" is that the police cannot deny future protests as long as they are peaceful and there is a prior request.

An judge from Egypt's Cairo-based State Council told Xinhua that all those who have been imprisoned on charges of protesting without a legal permit from the Interior Ministry must be released after part of Article 10 is deemed unconstitutional.

"All verdicts, jail-terms or detentions based on this article of the law are considered nonexistent," said the judge on condition of anonymity.

Many of the prisoners, however, are accused of other illegal activities, such as obstructing traffic and posing threats to citizens' interests, which all can incur the penalties stated in the law.

"Every prisoner whose case is related to Article 10 will be freed based on 'the most favorable law to the defendant' legal rule," said Walid al-Shahat, a legal expert and one of the lawyers of Mubarak's former chief of public security.

"However, only those accused of protesting without a permit will be released, but those facing other charges like damaging public properties, blocking public roads and causing injuries will not be released," Shahhat told Xinhua. Endit