Activists raise 'No To Emergency (Photo by Mai Shaheen)
A large number of activists blasted the “wall” of the official Facebook page of Egypt’s ruling military council, expressing their disapproval overnight on Tuesday.
After the generals of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) took power in February and opened a Facebook page to reach out to the public, protesters responded with quick, terse statements admonishing the army’s use of military trials against civilians. Recently they have been protesting the reactivation of Mubarak-era emergency laws.
Activists left SCAF multiple comments, including “No to Military Trials” and “No to Emergency Laws” (both movements under those names). They also accused the generals of “procrastinating” in holding elections and handing over power to a civilian administration.
SCAF has put 12,000 civilians on trial since late January and doled out thousands of convictions, but discontinued its practice last month under the pressure of rising public criticism. However, to the disenchantment of many Egyptians and human rights organisations, SCAF decided ten days ago in the aftermath of protesters ransacking Israel’s embassy to Cairo on 9 September, to push emergency laws instead of military courts as a means of maintaining public order.
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