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AN EGYPTIAN PANEL boycotted by Christians and liberals adopted a draft constitution earlier today with an Islamist bent that activists say restricts freedom of speech and religion and limits women’s rights.
Chairman of the Islamist-dominated Constituent Assembly Hossam el-Ghiriani said the draft law, approved after a marathon session through the night, would be sent to President Mohamed Morsi and a referendum would be held within two weeks.
The opposition, which has held daily protests since Morsi assumed broad powers in a decree last week, accuses the president and allies in the constituent assembly of railroading the charter through for a quick referendum.
The rushed adoption of the 234 articles of the draft basic law is certain to heighten tension on the streets and opposition groups said they would march on Friday to Cairo’s Tahrir Square for a mass protest.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators packed the square on Tuesday angered at Morsi’s power grab and dozens have remained camped out ever since, with clashes in nearby streets between police and protesters erupting daily.
The constitution will replace the one suspended after president Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow in early 2011.
Christians have objected to an article that seeks to narrow the meaning of “the principles of Islamic law” to the tenets of Sunni Muslim jurisprudence.
Heba Morayef, Human Rights Watch Egypt director, said some of the draft articles on freedom of expression and religion resemble a “penal code.”
“Some of the provisions are penal code provisions. You don’t list all the things that you are not allowed to do, you’re supposed to set up the rights and limitations,” she said.
Particularly worrisome was the limitation of religious freedom to followers of Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism), Morayef said, which would exclude minorities such as Bahais that have been persecuted in Egypt.
“They have added language that is problematic to freedom of expression. You cannot ‘insult a human,’ which is very broad. It can be used to censor criticism of the president,” she said.
Several private newspapers announced that they would not appear on the street next Tuesday to protest what they consider to be a lack of press guarantees in the new charter.
Abdallah Sennawi, a member of the Committee to Defend Freedom of Expression and Thought, said private television channels would follow suit on Wednesday.
Morsi’s decree, described by the opposition as dictatorial, stripped courts of the right to annul the controversial constituent assembly ahead of an expected court ruling on Sunday.
It shields Morsi’s decisions from review by the judiciary, which he and his movement believe retains Mubarak-era appointees who are opposed to the Islamists.
The top Cassation Court has suspended work to protest the decree, which will expire once the constitution is ratified.
Morsi and his supporters argue that delaying the constitution, which would be followed by parliamentary elections to replace the Islamist-dominated house dissolved by a court earlier this year, would delay democratic transition.
In a pre-recorded interview broadcast on Thursday night, Morsi repeated that the new powers he had assumed were temporary.
“This is an exceptional stage; we are in a transitional phase,” Morsi told state television. “This constitutional declaration is temporary, and it will end once the people have approved the constitution.”
The Muslim Brotherhood said it plans a pro-Morsi demonstration on Saturday, but that it will not be held in Tahrir Square to avoid any confrontation.
The assembly had announced on Wednesday it would vote on the charter the following day, to the shock of opposition groups holding out that Morsi would try to reconcile after Tuesday’s nationwide protests.
Morsi allowed the assembly a further two months after its mid-December deadline to finish the charter, making the quick vote even more of a surprise to the opposition.
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You’d actually miss Steve Jobs floating around the place, there’s a lot of charisma gone from the company. The man made a bug look like a feature.
I really like Craig Federighi, he’s a very different vibe to Jobs but his sections have been the highlight of the past few keynotes.
Yup, just what we need. More vacuous crap to excite the cult.
Ahh Jake, was wondering when you’d get here. Excited to see what Samsung will be releasing in 6 months?
It looks this article was initially posted a week or two ago but we now know for certain that the iPad Pro is being announced tonight. 12.9 inch display and much faster processor. And I agree David, Federighi has developed into a really smooth presenter.
@David, we already know what Samsung will announce, another android device giving people the ability to tailor their user experience to their wants in a great value piece of tech, often with groundbreaking invention.
I’ll say it now, the Samsung tab I received as a gift over a year and a half ago (costing my gf 220 quid) remains the most impressive tech device I have ever had for such a small price tag. I use it for 2 hours most evenings, charging it every 4/5 days. The screen is excellent, the processor fast. I’ve bounced it on tiles, carpet and wooden floors and though the back shows a thousand scratches the experience is unchanged.
There’s a difference between build quality and the feel of build quality. I feel Apple hits the latter.
an sd card slot, increased battery life, ah here get a grip on yourself!!!
Did anyone tell iPhone Joan about this
She’s sending some undercover gardai…
Technology wankfest.
There’ll be an announcement that the thing they announced as the GREATEST iTHING IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE a few months ago is now an outdated peice of rubbish that everyone will laught at you over. But you can avoid that laughter by paying even more money for the new GREATEST iTHING IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE. Pay someone to start queueing now!!
iDrones… so predictable
Rose gold is auspicious to the Chinese hence the watch colour.. Pure marketing ploy..
Belfast it is :)
Or parcel motel :)
A massive circle jerk
Did you not get your invitation?
what’s the point !!
Animated backgrounds and motion sensor remote. Give us micro sd slots in phones and a browser for Apple TV
SD slot will never happen when they can get a monthly fee for iCloud.
Sigh.
When you think about it, both those things would be more of a hindrance than a help.
No matter what platform you use, cloud storage is the way forward, and using your TV to browse the Internet, is that really a good way to work?
Just a hyped up outdated product announcements which are based on proprietary outdated technology and too expensive. good marketing job though.
Yeah, big swingin’ Mickey !
Please, please let it be a iPod wheel in-place of a keyboard
You people are crazy if you don’t think that would be greatest invention of the 21st Century
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA
My phone is better than your phone woooo me! I am winning! Im going to make you feel inadequate about your phone because my phone has some particular features I use that you dont need. Whats that you have? An iPhone? Seriously? You know Samsungs are better right? OH MY GAWWWWW
Since when is a pic with windows 10 an apple product ?
Shut up and take my money.
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