Nach den Übergriffen von Sicherheitskräften auf Demonstranten am Donnerstag in Kairo hat das ägyptische Innenminsiterium die Polizeimaßnahmen verteidigt und angekündigt, dass mehr als 250 festgenommene Protestler vorerst in Haft bleiben.
Am Donnerstag hatten sich hunderte Regimegegner versammelt um zwei Richter zu unterstützen, die an diesem Tage vor einer Disziplinarkommssion aussagen sollten. Die beiden Juristen Hisham al-Bastiwisy und Mahmoud Mekki hatten öffentlich erklärt, die Parlamentswahlen Ende 2005 seien von der Staatsführung manipuliert worden.
Heute erklärte das Innenministerium, das starke Polizieaufgebot sei notwendig gewesen "um diese wichtige juristische Institution zu schützen." Auch das gewaltsame Vorgehen gegen die Demonstranten sei gerechtfertigt, da die Leute "ohne Erlaubnis zusammenkamen und protestierten."
Nun ermitteln die Behörden gegen "Elemente die zu kriminellen Vereinigungen gehören und die sich in der Innenstadt versammelten und dort den Verkehr behinderten". Unter den Inhaftierten befinden sich offenbar zahlreiche Anhänger der verbotenen Muslimbruderschaft. Abdel Gelil al-Sharnoubi, Direktor der Internetseite der Muslimbrüder, spricht von 300 Mitgliedern seiner Bewegung, die am Donnerstag in verschiedenen Städten Ägyptens festgenommen worden seien.
Die Oppositionsgruppe "Kifaya" spricht von 60 inhaftierten Anhängern. 10 von ihnen seien am Freitag wieder auf Freien Fuß gesetzt worden, so Sprecher Mohammed Taima gegenüber Agence France-Presse.
Das US-Außenministerium äußerte sich "tief besorgt" über die Polizeiübergriffe gegen die Demonstranten.
Samstag, 13. Mai 2006
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Keine Gewaltenteilung in Ägypten: Der Justizminister beaufsichtigt die Richter und wird von der politischen
Leitung ernannt
Unten ein -mit Ruecksicht auf Urheberrecht stark gekuerzter- informativer Artikel aus der NYT
May 12, 2006
Police Beat Crowds Backing Egypt's Judges
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN and MONA EL-NAGGAR
CAIRO, May 11 — President Hosni Mubarak's government dispatched thousands of riot police officers into the center of the city on Thursday to silence demonstrators intent on showing support for judges demanding independence from the president.
The police clubbed men and women trying to demonstrate as well as half a dozen journalists.
...
The police also blocked streets and subway stations, disrupting the lives of thousands of residents and workers. Officers sealed off the Judges Club, a stately building that has become a kind of headquarters for people calling for more democracy.
...
After small steps last year toward greater political freedom, Mr. Mubarak's government stopped when it came to Egypt's nearly 7,000 judges, who have called not only for independence, but also for the right to be the sole monitor of elections. The judges say the system is corrupt at least in part because the justice minister, appointed by the president, oversees the judiciary.
Two of Egypt's most senior judges, Mahmoud Mekki and Hisham Bastawisi, were to appear Thursday in the High Court to face disciplinary proceedings for publicly charging electoral fraud during parliamentary elections late last year. But the proceedings were postponed after the two judges refused to enter the court amid a huge contingent of riot police officers. Security forces also refused to admit the judges' supporters to the chamber.
Government officials have said the judges have adequate independence and security decisions are made to protect people and property. The government's chief spokesman could not be reached for comment. The case of Judge Mekki and Judge Bastawisi, and the drive for independence from Mr. Mubarak's oversight, have become a flash point and a rallying point in the push to bring democratic changes to a system where one party has a monopoly on power and all major decisions are made by the president, or his appointees.
With Egypt's political opposition parties impotent and ineffectual, professional organizations, like those formed by the judges and university professors, have emerged as the forces pressing for change. The Muslim Brotherhood, which is illegal but tolerated, remains the nation's most organized opposition group.
Last December, for the first time, the government tolerated protesters chanting anti-Mubarak slogans. But it has shown no tolerance for protesters backing the judges. That has put the United States, which considers Egypt one of its closest allies in the region and gives it nearly $2 billion annually in aid, in an awkward position. But, faced with huge challenges in the region — from Iran to Sudan — the United States has appeared to back off on putting pressure on Egypt over its domestic policies.
The State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, issued a statement about Thursday's violence. "We are deeply concerned by reports of Egyptian government arrests and repression of demonstrators protesting election fraud and calling for an independent judiciary," it said. "Particularly troubling are reports of Egyptian police tactics against demonstrators and journalists covering the event that left many injured."
The statement urged Egypt to permit peaceful demonstrations on behalf of reform and civil liberties and said the United States would raise its concerns with the Egyptian government. In the last week, the authorities have detained about 50 demonstrators outside the Judges Club, for showing support for the judges' cause. Some have been charged with "insulting the president."
"The regime is sending a message saying, 'Everyone will bow down and prostrate and shut up, and there will be no other voice but me,' " Hazem Farouq Mansour, a member of Parliament affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, said Thursday in an interview at the scene of the demonstrations. "They think that the judges have empowered the people against the regime in the elections. And the status of the judge in the eyes of the Egyptian citizen is very high. This is no doubt terrifying the authorities."
...
At times, small groups of protesters organized at the edge of the police barrier but were beaten and dragged away. At least six journalists were said to have been detained, and Al Jazeera said its cameraman had been severely beaten.
...
Keine Gewaltenteilung in Ägypten: Der Justizminister beaufsichtigt die Richter und wird von der politischen
Leitung ernannt
Unten ein -mit Ruecksicht auf Urheberrecht stark gekuerzter- informativer Artikel aus der NYT
May 12, 2006
Police Beat Crowds Backing Egypt's Judges
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN and MONA EL-NAGGAR
CAIRO, May 11 — President Hosni Mubarak's government dispatched thousands of riot police officers into the center of the city on Thursday to silence demonstrators intent on showing support for judges demanding independence from the president.
The police clubbed men and women trying to demonstrate as well as half a dozen journalists.
...
The police also blocked streets and subway stations, disrupting the lives of thousands of residents and workers. Officers sealed off the Judges Club, a stately building that has become a kind of headquarters for people calling for more democracy.
...
After small steps last year toward greater political freedom, Mr. Mubarak's government stopped when it came to Egypt's nearly 7,000 judges, who have called not only for independence, but also for the right to be the sole monitor of elections. The judges say the system is corrupt at least in part because the justice minister, appointed by the president, oversees the judiciary.
Two of Egypt's most senior judges, Mahmoud Mekki and Hisham Bastawisi, were to appear Thursday in the High Court to face disciplinary proceedings for publicly charging electoral fraud during parliamentary elections late last year. But the proceedings were postponed after the two judges refused to enter the court amid a huge contingent of riot police officers. Security forces also refused to admit the judges' supporters to the chamber.
Government officials have said the judges have adequate independence and security decisions are made to protect people and property. The government's chief spokesman could not be reached for comment. The case of Judge Mekki and Judge Bastawisi, and the drive for independence from Mr. Mubarak's oversight, have become a flash point and a rallying point in the push to bring democratic changes to a system where one party has a monopoly on power and all major decisions are made by the president, or his appointees.
With Egypt's political opposition parties impotent and ineffectual, professional organizations, like those formed by the judges and university professors, have emerged as the forces pressing for change. The Muslim Brotherhood, which is illegal but tolerated, remains the nation's most organized opposition group.
Last December, for the first time, the government tolerated protesters chanting anti-Mubarak slogans. But it has shown no tolerance for protesters backing the judges. That has put the United States, which considers Egypt one of its closest allies in the region and gives it nearly $2 billion annually in aid, in an awkward position. But, faced with huge challenges in the region — from Iran to Sudan — the United States has appeared to back off on putting pressure on Egypt over its domestic policies.
The State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, issued a statement about Thursday's violence. "We are deeply concerned by reports of Egyptian government arrests and repression of demonstrators protesting election fraud and calling for an independent judiciary," it said. "Particularly troubling are reports of Egyptian police tactics against demonstrators and journalists covering the event that left many injured."
The statement urged Egypt to permit peaceful demonstrations on behalf of reform and civil liberties and said the United States would raise its concerns with the Egyptian government. In the last week, the authorities have detained about 50 demonstrators outside the Judges Club, for showing support for the judges' cause. Some have been charged with "insulting the president."
"The regime is sending a message saying, 'Everyone will bow down and prostrate and shut up, and there will be no other voice but me,' " Hazem Farouq Mansour, a member of Parliament affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, said Thursday in an interview at the scene of the demonstrations. "They think that the judges have empowered the people against the regime in the elections. And the status of the judge in the eyes of the Egyptian citizen is very high. This is no doubt terrifying the authorities."
...
At times, small groups of protesters organized at the edge of the police barrier but were beaten and dragged away. At least six journalists were said to have been detained, and Al Jazeera said its cameraman had been severely beaten.
...
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