An Egyptian court decided on Tuesday to release 416 people who were arrested on charges of participating in demonstrations against the government of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in September, according to a judicial official.
The source pointed out that "it was decided to release them with precautionary measures," without further explanation. These procedures usually include for the released person to present daily at a specified hour to the honorary department near his place of residence to prove his presence, and may reach the limit of daily detention in the police station from 6 pm to 6 am the next day.
And human rights lawyers said that nearly 2,000 people were arrested in September following demonstrations in villages and poor neighborhoods, especially in Cairo.
On September 27, the Public Prosecutor announced the release of 68 minors arrested in those demonstrations.
The demonstrations during which a man was killed in clashes with the police in southern Cairo, in rural areas, where recent government decisions to impose fines on buildings that were built without official permission sparked a widespread wave of anger in light of the deterioration of living standards, especially after the implementation of an economic reform program that included a liberalization of the currency. Egyptian since November 2016.
The Egyptian opposition contractor and residing in Europe, Muhammad Ali, called for these demonstrations, and media affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood adopted this call.
These demonstrations are rare in Egypt, where the authorities placed "crippling" restrictions on demonstrations and launched a crackdown on all opposition groups, according to international human rights defense organizations.
When Sisi was defense minister, the Egyptian army overthrew the late Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, one year after he took power, which witnessed major political and economic turmoil.
Al-Sisi was elected president the following year, then re-elected for a second term in 2018.
