Egyptian writers and intellectuals belonging to the 'Constitution for All Egyptians' campaign plan to stage a protest on Sunday at 5pm in front of the Shura Council (the upper house of Egypt's parliament) in downtown Cairo to demand that the country's next constitution – currently in the process of being drafted – not restrict public freedoms and represent Egypt's broad diversity.

Participants in Sunday's planned demonstration also plan to demand that constitutional articles be clearly written so as to avoid problems seen during Egypt's transitional phase, which was largely regulated by a military-authored 30 March 2011 Constitutional Declaration that critics say was vaguely-worded.

Journalist Yahya Qalash told Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website on Saturday that the planned protest enjoyed the support of the Writers Union of Egypt, the Egyptian Creativity Front, Egypt's Society of Writers, and the Journalists' Syndicate, along with the country's cinema, acting and film associations.

Egyptian thinkers and writers expected to participate in the event include Bahaa Taher, Gamal El-Ghitani, Ibrahim Abdel-Meguid, Said Kafrawi, Yousef El-Qaeed, Sabry Hafez, Ghada Nabil, Fatima Kandil and Mohamed Abla. 

Qalash also stressed that the coming period in Egypt "would witness stepped-up coordination between all entities pushing for freedom of expression and human rights … in order to show that one of the most important gains of the revolution, namely freedom, is under threat and its future uncertain." 

Citing recent judicial action against the media, Qalash added that the campaign would take "strong and effective" action against what he described as "threats to the Egyptian mind and the ordinary citizen."

The "Constitution for All Egyptians" campaign, established in March to demand a "representative" national charter ensuring "freedom and equality," is an umbrella group consisting of different organisations including professional syndicates, workers' and farmers' unions and youth coalitions, along with the Free Egyptians, Democratic Front and Tagammu parties.