Riot cops close parts of Cairo
2006-05-18 13:41
Cairo - Egyptian riot police closed down parts of central Cairo on Thursday as a precaution against demonstrations in solidarity with two judges facing disciplinary action for talking about election abuses.
Thousands of police, armed with sticks and shields, sealed off streets around the High Court and the nearby Judges Club, flashpoints during weeks of protests against the authorities' attempts to punish the two judges.
In the same High Court building, the Court of Cassation would hear on Thursday an appeal from imprisoned opposition leader Ayman Nour, who was jailed for five years last year on forgery charges, which he and his supporters said were fabricated.
50 Brotherhood members held
The interior ministry had issued warnings that police would take a tough line against protesters on Thursday, but opposition sources said hundreds of people, many from the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, were preparing to defy them.
About 20 Brotherhood MPs, wearing black sashes inscribed "Members of parliament with the judges of Egypt", stood in front of the Court of Cassation.
The interior ministry said that police arrested 50 Brotherhood members on Wednesday after demonstrations in favour of the judges in the Nile Delta town of Shibin el-Kom.
During a similar disciplinary hearing for the two judges last Thursday, police and plainclothes security attacked peaceful demonstrators, beating them with sticks and fists and dragging them away in police trucks.
One of the two judges, Hesham Bastawisi, had a heart attack on Wednesday, but the hearing was expected to go ahead on Thursday in his absence. His colleague, Mahmoud Mekky, boycotted last week's session and was not expected to attend on Thursday.
- Reuters