Egyptian policemen direct traffic in front of the Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque, which was the main Muslim Brotherhood protest site, in Cairo, Egypt. Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square was reopened to traffic on 11 November after nearly three months of closure. (EPA/KHALED ELFIQI)
Egypt’s army-backed authorities announced the state of emergency and nightly curfew on August 14, when security forces forcibly ended the two main sit-ins by supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in Cairo, prompting waves of violence in which hundreds of people have been killed.
The state of the emergency allowed the authorities to make arrests without warrants and gave security officials the right to search people’s homes.
The government’s decision, the security source said, came after a court ruling that the state of emergency, that includes the curfew from 1 am to 5 am, expired on Tuesday.
The cabinet said in a statement it was “committed to execute the court ruling and is waiting to receive a copy of the ruling to execute it”.
Hundreds of pro-Mursi supporters have been staging almost daily protests against the army since they deposed him in July. Egyptian authorities have arrested thousands of Islamist activists and Mursi supporters in the past three months.
Many blamed the curfew, which initially started at 7 pm but has been reduced over the weeks, on dampening trade in central Cairo at a time when the government is desperately trying to create jobs and boost an economy that has been badly hit by the turmoil.
The state of emergency and curfew had been due to last a month from August 14, but the government extended it for two more months on September 12.
“The court argued that since the extension announcement was on September 12 then the expiry date should be Tuesday not Thursday November 14,” a judiciary source said.