Egypt court orders release of 16 Muslim Brotherhood members News
Egypt court orders release of 16 Muslim Brotherhood members

[JURIST] An Egyptian criminal court on Sunday ordered 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) [party website; JURIST news archive] released on bail [MB press release], including deputy chairman Mahmoud Ezzat and spokesperson Essam al-Erian. The members of MB, which has been banned in Egypt [JURIST news archive], were arrested in February and charged with plotting to overthrow the Egyptian government. The MB has called those charges "concocted." The Egyptian government has often used the country's emergency laws [FIDH backgrounder; JURIST news archive] to arrest and indefinitely detain individuals it considered a threat to state security. This includes the MB, which the Egyptian government has accused of trying to create an Islamic theocracy through violence. There has been no indication of when the 16 individuals will be released.

In the past, Egypt has also used the emergency laws extensively against other opposition parties. In July, the trial of 26 individuals with alleged ties to Hezbollah was transferred to a court [JURIST report] established under the emergency laws. In February 2009, a military court utilized the laws during a trial in which it sentenced [JURIST report] opposition leader Magdy Ahmed Hussein to two years in prison. The emergency laws have been in effect continuously since the 1981 assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and were renewed [JURIST report; JURIST op-ed] most recently in May 2008. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] sharply criticized the renewal [JURIST report], saying the move showed "contempt for the rule of law."

THIS DAY @ LAW

Congress passes Sedition Act

On July 14, 1798, Congress passed the Sedition Act, which declared that any treasonable activity, including the publication of "any false, scandalous and malicious writing," was a high misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment. Learn more about the Sedition Act from the National Archives and Records Administration.

Bastille Day in France

On July 14, 1789, ordinary citizens of France stormed the Bastille prison and freed prisoners held there. The event has come to symbolize the opening salvo in the French Revolution. One year later, France celebrated the establishment of a short-lived constitutional monarchy in Fête de la Fédération. The anniversary, Bastille Day, is celebrated today as a major French national holiday. Learn more about Bastille Day from the Government of France.