Arrested peasants, workers and students to be detained for an extra 15 days

Salma Shukrallah, Saturday 11 Jun 2011

Demonstrators arrested on Wednesday to be further detained, lawyers appeal and activists condemn arrests as anti-democratic

Prosecution has extended on Saturday the detention of the ten arrested during strikes last week. The ten detained include five farmers, 3 workers and 2 Azhar students arrested during sit-ins on Wednesday staged in front of the council of ministers with different demands. 

According to lawyer Rajia Omran, those detained are accused of congregation, obstruction of traffic, damage to private and public property and assaulting soldier. The lawyers will submit a request for appeal, says Omran.

The government has said on Wednesday that it will no longer tolerate what it called factional demonstrations and strikes and that it will start putting into force the anti-strikes law.

Egypt’s current interim government has issued a law banning strikes and demonstrations considered to be harmful for the economy or for the country’s production process.

Activists have long criticized the anti-strike law and condemned it as anti-democratic.

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