Police arrested at least 10 protesters in downtown Cairo on Monday afternoon and blocked access to the space outside the Journalists Syndicate. The detainees were protesting the Cabinet’s approval of a controversial agreement to hand over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia, and its referral of the agreement to Parliament ahead of a judicial verdict on the case.
A Mada Masr correspondent reported that a throng of protesters had gathered at the intersection of Abdel Khalek Tharwat Street and Ramses Street in hopes of rallying outside the nearby headquarters of the Journalists’ Syndicate, but police blocked their access and began arresting protesters. The arrests resulted in the outbreak of some scuffles between police and protesters, some of whom hurled rocks at the police. Some protesters were dragged along the ground.
Photograph: روجيه أنيس
Photograph: روجيه أنيس
Photograph: روجيه أنيس
Photograph: روجيه أنيس
Photograph: Roger Anis
The demonstration was intended as a display of popular resistance to the Cabinet’s approval of a maritime border demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia on Thursday, passing the treaty to Parliament instead of waiting until January 16, when the Supreme Court is due to issue a final ruling on the government’s appeal of a June sentence that annulled the deal originally struck in April.
The court is still reviewing the appeal filed against the June ruling, issued by Egypt’s Administrative Court, to invalidate Cabinet’s agreement to cede the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, which were previously mapped as being Egyptian territories.
During his official visit to Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail submitted the bilateral maritime border agreement as formally drafted to the speaker, Ali Abdel Aal. On Sunday, MP Mostafa Bakry submitted an urgent parliamentary request summoning the prime minister for questioning before Egypt’s legislators, to explain, as he described it: “the reasons behind the government’s decision not to provide Parliament with the exact text of this maritime border agreement between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.”
On Saturday, lawyers filed an appeal against the border demarcation agreement before the Supreme Administrative Court. This latest legal appeal has been filed against the persons of the president of the republic, the prime minister and the ministers of defense and foreign affairs.
Photos by Roger Anis.
