Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly warned on Tuesday that his government would not allow demonstrators to spread “chaos” after limited protests came out at the end of last month.
In his first official reaction, Madbouly condemned the recent protests through a speech delivered in the Parliament, which he saw as part of a “fierce” foreign war aimed at “creating confusion, chaos and skepticism.”
“The Egyptian people will not allow a repeat of this chaotic scenario,” he said, referring to the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak. But Madbouly stressed at the end of his 40-minute speech that all parts of the state and its appartus acted immediately in accordance with the law in response to the aforementioned protests.
Meanwhile, head of the Egyptian House of Representatives, Ali Abdel Aal, said that there are no political detainees despite the accusations against authorities.
”There are some suspects in the recent events” Abdel Aal said during the plenary session of the House of Representatives on Tuesday when asked by parliamentarian Talaat Khalil about the security forces’ arrest of hundreds of people from Suez governorate in connection with recent demonstrations in the city.
“They shall be arrested on the order of the Public Prosecution. Anyone found not guilty shall be released immediately” Abdel Aal explained.
Abdel Aal added that “there already is a large number of people that have been released, and there are no political detainees in Egypt in accordance with the law and the Egyptian Constitution,” explaining that “all those arrested were subjected to this procedure based on the decisions of the Public Prosecution as explained by the Attorney General’s statement.”
Opponents of Egyptian government protested on 20 and 27 September to demand his departure from power, while supporters demonstrated on 27 September to express their support for him.
Hundreds of people demonstrated on the night of 20 September in Cairo and other Egyptian cities, such as Alexandria and Mahalla, in response to calls launched via social media. Several media reports indicated that police arrested dozens of demonstrators.
The 20 September’s demonstrations took place in some Egyptian cities, including Cairo and Alexandria, but the police quickly dispersed them.
Videos posted on social media showed dozens of people gathered in Alexandria, Mahalla, and Damietta in the Nile Delta as well as in Suez.
In Cairo, arrests took place during a night demonstration in Tahrir Square, the centre of the 25 January revolution against President Hosni Mubarak’s rule in 2011.
Among those calling for the demonstration was an Egyptian residing in Spain, Mohamed Ali, 45. The construction contractor accused the Egyptian army of owing him millions of pounds in return for projects carried out by his company Amlak Contracting. The video has been viewed millions of times and has received many interactions from social media users in Egypt.
At a conference held recently in Cairo, Al-Sisi denied accusations of corruption, saying he is “honest, faithful, and loyal.” Al-Sisi said the accusations were “lies and slander.” However, Ali said he would continue to publish videos until authorities respond to them in an officially.
Protests in Egypt are severely restricted by a law passed in November 2013, a few months after the ousting of the Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July the same year.
