Egypt To Remove 3-Month State Of Emergency And Curfew; New Law Will Set Strict Limits On Protests

Egyptian courts have ruled to end the three-month curfew and state of emergency that was implemented on Aug. 14 after security forces aggressively ended sit-ins against the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi, BBC News reported.

The state of emergency and curfew was due to be removed last month, but the government decided to extend it on Sept. 12. until today, though a statement said Cairo is waiting on the text of the ruling before they begin implementation, according to BBC.

The statement said Egypt is "committed to execute the court ruling and is waiting to receive a copy of the ruling to execute it," Reuters reported. The statement said the army-backed government will abide by the ruling.

Many Egyptians have blamed the curfew and state of emergency of harming business in Cairo at an already low period where the government was trying to create more jobs and boost the economy, BBC reported.

The state of emergency, which was implemented after Morsi supporters protested against his ousting in July, gave authorities the right to arrest and search without reason or warrant, BBC reported. Before President Hosni Mubarak was removed from power during the 2011 protests, Egyptians had lived under a strict curfew and lockdown for three decades, which gave more power to the security services, BBC reported.

Orla Guerin, a BBC reporter in Cairo, said that even with the removal of curfew and the state of emergency, Egypt is likely to be kept under a strict watch to prevent further street demonstrations.

According to authorities, extra security personnel will be on main streets and cities across Egypt to "tighten control" correspondents told BBC.

Guerin added that new limits on freedoms, like a law regulating public protest, will be implemented soon and human right activists are stating the new laws will give authorities the power to ban all protests, according to BBC.

Currently, the draft legislation states any meeting of more than 10 people in private or public needs to notify police in advance, BBC reported.