Egyptian VP agrees to end state emergency law

0 CommentsPrint E-mail Xinhua, February 7, 2011
Adjust font size:

Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman agreed in the talks with opposition parties to end state emergency law according to the security condition of the country on Sunday.

Egypt's emergency law has been in force since 1981 following the assassination of late President Anwar Sadat by a group named Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which violently opposed a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

The Egyptian parliament decided last May to extend the emergency law for an extra two years.

The law grants the government authorities to arrest terrorist suspects and drug traffickers, to search people and places suspected of involvement in such crimes, to cancel licenses for possessing arms or explosive materials and to confiscate them.

However, the opposition condemned the law for facilitating the government' crackdown on them.

The call for ending the emergency law was one of the demands by the protestors and opposition groups during the mass demonstrations since Jan. 25, which have left dozens of people dead and more than 5,000 injured.

Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comments

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter