• Judge withdraws in retrial of Egypt's Mubarak, causing delays

    Tarek El Gabbas / AP

    Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, second right, waves at his supporters, at a hearing in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, April 13, 2013.

    By Yasmine Saleh and Maggie Fick, Reuters

    The retrial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was aborted on Saturday when the presiding judge withdrew from the case and referred it to another court, causing an indefinite delay that sparked anger in the courtroom.


    Lawyers said that while the transfer would give prosecutors more time to draw on new evidence in an unpublished fact-finding commission's report into the repression, it could delay the case by months, increasing the risk that Mubarak, 84, may never be finally convicted and sentenced.

    "Egypt cannot close the door on the former regime until there is justice for the martyrs of our revolution," said Mohamed Rashwan, a prosecution attorney and member of the Egyptian Lawyers' Union, which had petitioned to have the judge removed from the case. Two years had passed since Mubarak's fall and justice was taking too long, Rashwan said.

    "The people demand the execution of Mubarak!" frustrated relatives of demonstrators killed in the 2011 uprising that overthrew him chanted in court after presiding Judge Mustafa Hassan Abdullah announced the decision at the opening session.

    Outside the heavily guarded compound, pro-Mubarak demonstrators outnumbered opponents. The two small groups were kept well apart by a police cordon and there were no incidents.

    Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for almost 30 years before being toppled by 18 days of Arab Spring pro-democracy unrest, waved and smiled to supporters from the defendants' cage in the courtroom before the brief hearing began.

    He was flown by helicopter from a military hospital where he has been detained to the police academy used as a courthouse, and wheeled from an ambulance into the building lying on a hospital trolley wearing a white tracksuit.

    Mubarak, former interior minister Habib al-Adli and four top aides face a retrial for complicity in the murder of more than 800 protesters after the highest appeals court accepted appeals by both the defense and the prosecution in January. Two other senior interior ministry officials face lesser charges.

    The presiding judge was appointed under Mubarak and so were most of the current judiciary, a factor that has complicated transitional justice in Egypt. The judge said he had decided to refer the case to the Cairo appeals court as he felt "unease" in reviewing the case. He did not explain his decision further.

    He had previously acquitted top former Mubarak era officials of orchestrating violence when thugs riding camels attacked pro-democracy activists in Cairo's central Tahrir Square.

    "We ask for the harshest possible sentence on Mubarak due to the cruel crimes he committed against the protesters, but we are happy with the judge's decision to withdraw as we had worries about him given his ruling (on) the camel attack case," said Mohamed Abdel Wahab, a lawyer for the victims. His comment reflected a widespread mixture of relief and frustration.

    COMPETING DEMONSTRATIONS

    It was the first time Mubarak, who wore gold-rimmed aviator sunglasses in court, had been seen in public since he and Adli were convicted last June on grounds of failing to stop the killing, rather than actually ordering it.

    Mubarak's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were also in court to be retried on separate charges of financial corruption.

    Propped up on a gurney in a cage with the other defendants, he looked fitter and more relaxed than on previous appearances in the dock, holding animated conversations with his son Gamal, and occasionally smiling and waving to people in the courtroom.

    Judge Mahmoud el-Hafnawy of the prosecutor general's office ordered an urgent medical report on the former president to determine whether he was now fit enough to be sent to prison.

    Prosecutors accuse Mubarak of giving orders to Adli to open fire with live ammunition against protesters to suppress demonstrations across the Arab world's most populous country.

    Mubarak and his interior minister were sentenced to life imprisonment at their first trial but the appeals court upheld complaints stemming from the weakness of the evidence offered by the prosecution.

    Outside the court, pro-Mubarak demonstrators chanted "thirty years without destruction!" in reference to accusations that the Muslim Brotherhood movement which won free elections after his ouster are destroying the country.

    "Look at the country now," said a supporter who gave his name as Ibrahim. "We are going bankrupt. The whole country is suffering from this economic crisis, from this lack of security."

    Across the square, relatives of victims of Mubarak's security forces held posters of young men killed in the revolt.

    Mahmoud Saleh, whose son Mostafa was killed during revolution, said: "He who kills must be killed. This is what we want from the trial."

    Mubarak became the first ruler toppled by the Arab Spring uprisings to stand trial in person. That irked Gulf Arab rulers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, of whom the former air force commander had been a loyal ally for decades.

    But the case has also exposed the difficulties of justice in a country where the judiciary and security forces are still largely run by men whose positions date to the Mubarak era.

    The prosecution complained that the interior ministry had failed to cooperate in providing evidence, leading to the acquittal of six senior ministry officials tried with Mubarak.

    Mohamed Gomaa, 50, an IT specialist whose son Hussein, 23, was killed in the uprising, said: "Major reforms are needed in the entire justice system. Until then, we can only hope to God for a fair trial for Mubarak. I have no confidence in the judiciary."

    Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

    A protester against former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak holds dolls depicting Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal, and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly being hung.

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    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • Women violated in the cradle of Egypt's revolution, activists say

    Hania Moheeb, an Egyptian journalist assaulted in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, says attacks aimed at shaming women into silence will not succeed. By NBC News' Susan Kroll and Tracy Jarrett.

    By Susan Kroll and Marian Smith, NBC News

    Cairo's Tahrir Square, once the staging ground for the massive uprising that ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, is quickly becoming notorious for something very different: an organized campaign of sexual assaults, activists say.

    The past year has seen an increase in attacks against women at demonstrations, but recently they have been particularly rampant – and, according to witnesses and activists, they have been following similar patterns.

    On the two-year anniversary of the revolution on Jan. 25, at least 19 women were sexually assaulted in and around Tahrir Square in one night, some with knives, activists said. Dozens more cases have been reported in the two months since.

    “The message to women is, ‘You should stay at home, you should stop protesting, you should feel stigmatized,’” said Hania Moheeb, an Egyptian journalist who was herself assaulted in the square that night.

    Moheeb, who writes for two English-language magazines and for a documentary program on Nile TV International, recently met female activists from around the Middle East at a conference in New York on women’s rights since the Arab Spring uprising. She described that at one point that night, she was certain she would die.

    Moheeb, 42, was trying to pass through the square when two men grabbed her from a group of women who had formed a circle around her, apparently to protect her.

    “In a few seconds, tens of hands were all over my body, under my clothes, ripping … off my clothes and violating each inch of my body,” she said.

    The men were “continuously giving the impression that they were helping out while they were the same perpetrators and attackers,” she added.

    They dragged her to the outer edges of the square where another group of men came forward, saying they would help and take her to an ambulance, Moheeb said. But they stopped her as she tried to pull her clothes back on, carrying her half-naked to the ambulance.

    “What I know for a fact is that my body was being violated up until the last second before I was put in the ambulance,” she said.

    Over the days following her attack, Moheeb heard from other women who were also assaulted on the same night, at the same place and in the same way – using the same techniques down to the very last detail.

    Some activists believe it is an organized tactic aimed at silencing opponents of the Egyptian government, but there has been no evidence to prove that is the case, Moheeb said. No single group has been charged in connection with the assaults as of yet.

    Nonetheless, Moheeb fears there will be retribution for her telling her story and worries for her husband and parents. Although she is pursuing justice through the courts, she says she holds out very little hope that anything will be done.

    “The justice I need,” Moheeb said, “is the justice [for] the Egyptian people. The success of the revolution will be success for them.”

    Related:

    Violence, protesters return to Tahrir Square

    Egypt branded more dangerous for tourists than Yemen

    Sex mobs target Egypt's women

  • Violence, protesters return to Tahrir Square, Suez as Egypt marks revolution

    Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in Tahrir Square to mark the 2011 uprising that led to Egypt's change in power. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports. 

    By Ahmed el-Shemi and Tom Perry, Reuters

    Five people were shot dead in the Egyptian city of Suez during nationwide protests against President Mohamed Morsi on Friday, the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

    One of the dead was a member of the security forces, medics said. Another 280 civilians and 55 security personnel were injured, officials said, in demonstrations fueled by anger at the president and his Islamist allies in the Muslim Brotherhood.


    Thousands of opponents of Morsi massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square - the cradle of the revolt against Mubarak - to rekindle the demands of a revolution they say has been hijacked by Islamists who have betrayed its goals.

    Street battles erupted in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Port Said. Arsonists attacked at least two state-owned buildings as symbols of government were targeted. An office used by the Muslim Brotherhood's political party was also torched.

    The Jan. 25 anniversary laid bare the divide between the Islamists and their secular rivals.

    This schism is hindering the efforts of Morsi, elected in June, to revive an economy in crisis and reverse a plunge in Egypt's currency by enticing back investors and tourists.

    Inspired by the popular uprising in Tunisia, Egypt's revolution spurred further revolts across the Arab world. But the sense of common purpose that united Egyptians two years ago has given way to internal strife that had already triggered bloody street battles last month.

    "Our revolution is continuing. We reject the domination of any party over this state. We say no to the Brotherhood state," Hamdeen Sabahy, a popular leftist leader, told Reuters.

    PhotoBlog: Protesters fill Tahrir Square on anniversary of Egyptian revolution

    Ed Giles / Getty Images

    An Egyptian protester runs with a live tear gas canister during clashes with riot police around Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday.

    The Brotherhood decided against mobilizing for the anniversary, wary of the scope for more conflict after December's violence, stoked by Morsi's decision to fast-track an Islamist-tinged constitution rejected by his opponents.

    The Brotherhood denies accusations that it is seeking to dominate Egypt, labeling them a smear campaign by its rivals.

    Death in Suez
    There were conflicting accounts of the lethal shooting in Suez. Some witnesses said security forces had opened fire in response to gunfire from masked men.

    News of the deaths capped a day of violence which started in the early hours. Before dawn in Cairo, police battled protesters who threw petrol bombs and firecrackers as they approached a wall blocking access to government buildings near Tahrir Square.

    Clouds of tear gas filled the air. At one point, riot police used one of the incendiaries thrown at them to set ablaze at least two tents erected by youths, a Reuters witness said.

    Yuka Tachibana / NBC News

    A boy is draped in the Egyptian flag as protesters gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday. Despite clashes around the square, the atmosphere inside was festive at times.

    Skirmishes between stone-throwing youths and the police continued in streets around the square into the day. Ambulances ferried away a steady stream of casualties.

    Protesters echoed the chants of 2011's historic 18-day uprising. "The people want to bring down the regime," they chanted. "Leave! Leave! Leave!" chanted others as they marched towards the square.

    "We are not here to celebrate but to force those in power to submit to the will of the people. Egypt now must never be like Egypt during Mubarak's rule," said Mohamed Fahmy, an activist.

    There were similar scenes in Suez and Alexandria, where protesters and riot police clashed near local government offices. Black smoke billowed from tires set ablaze by youths.

    In Cairo, police fired tear gas to disperse a few dozen protesters trying to remove barbed-wire barriers protecting the presidential palace, witnesses said. A few masked men got as far as the gates before they were beaten back.

    Tear gas was also fired at protesters who tried to remove metal barriers outside the state television building.

    Outside Cairo, protesters broke into the offices of provincial governors in Ismailia and Kafr el-Sheikhin the Nile Delta. A local government building was torched in the Nile Delta city of al-Mahalla al-Kubra.

    Badie calls for 'serious competition'
    With an eye on parliamentary elections likely to begin in April, the Brotherhood marked the anniversary with a charity drive across the nation. It plans to deliver medical aid to one million people and distribute affordable basic foodstuffs.

    Writing in Al-Ahram, Egypt's flagship state-run daily, Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badiesaid the country was in need of "practical, serious competition" to reform the corrupt state left by the Mubarak era.

    Slideshow: Tempers flare in Egypt's Tahrir Square

    Asmaa Waguih / Reuters

    On the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, hundreds of youths clash with police.

    Launch slideshow

    "The differences of opinion and vision that Egypt is passing through is a characteristic at the core of transitions from dictatorship to democracy, and clearly expresses the variety of Egyptian culture," he wrote.

    Morsi's opponents say he and his group are seeking to dominate the post-Mubarak order. They accuse him of showing some of the autocratic impulses of the deposed leader by, for example, driving through the new constitution last month.

    "I am taking part in today's marches to reject the warped constitution, the 'Brotherhoodisation'of the state, the attack on the rule of law, and the disregard of the president and his government for the demands for social justice," Amr Hamzawy, a prominent liberal politician, wrote on his Twitter feed.

    The Brotherhood says its rivals are failing to respect the rules of the new democracy that put the Islamists in the driving seat via free elections.

    Six months into office, Morsi is also being held responsible for an economic crisis caused by two years of turmoil. The Egyptian pound has sunk to record lows against the dollar.

    The parties that called for Friday's protests list demands including a complete overhaul of the constitution.

    Critics say the constitution, which was approved in a referendum, offers inadequate protection for human rights, grants the president too many privileges and fails to curb the power of a military establishment supreme in the Mubarak era.

    Morsi'ssupporters say enacting the constitution quickly was crucial to restoring stability needed for economic recovery. 

    Related:

    PhotoBlog: Egypt riot police set fire to protest tents in Tahrir Square, witness says

    Egyptians fear decades of Muslim Brotherhood rule, warn Morsi is no friend to US

    'Egypt is free,' crowds cheer after Mubarak quits

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • 'Men don't have to worry about being caught': Sex mobs target Egypt's women

    Charlene Gubash / NBC News

    Volunteers scan a crowd in an effort to detect and prevent sexual harassment during a demonstration against President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday.

    By Charlene Gubash, NBC News

    Editor's note: This story includes a correction.

    Updated at 7:48 a.m. ET: CAIRO - Walaa Al Momtaz doesn’t leave her home for up to five days at a time. The neatly veiled 22-year-old misses her friends at City University, where she studies English and German, but what she faces upon leaving her house defeats her.

    Men and boys constantly harass and threaten Al Momtaz on the bus, on the street and at the university.

    "Every day men talk to me in a bad way, laugh at me and say things about what I am wearing," she told NBC News. On a recent bus trip, a man stuck his hand through a gap in the seat to touch her.

    Al Momtaz has gotten off relatively lightly. 

    On Nov 25, Al-Ahram state newspaper reported three women were sexually assaulted during anti-Morsi demonstrations by hundreds of men. 

    In September, Eman Mostafa, 16, was gunned down after she spit in the face of a man who harassed her in the province of Assiut, according to police reports.

    The Feb. 11, 2011, attack on CBS News' Lara Logan as she filed a report for "60 Minutes" in Tahrir Square, epicenter of the uprising that forced dictator Hosni Mubarak to step down last year, brought international attention to the problem of sex attacks on women in public places. 

    Public violence against women was rampant well before the movement that unseated Mubarak in 2011. According to a 2008 study by an Egyptian NGO, 83 percent of women have been victims of harassment. 

    In the post-Mubarak era, activists and protesters have reported many particularly violent assaults on women. Some experts allege the government and security officials are failing to take the problem seriously. More than 700 claims of harassment were filed across Egypt over the four-day Id al-Adha holiday in late October.

    Egypt's Morsi flees palace as protesters battle cops

    "It is not a country of law, not a state of law anymore. It has given men a chance to harass women without being accused," said Afaf Marie, director of the Egyptian Association for Community Participation and Enhancement, an NGO.

    Some activists fear that women's rights will suffer under the rule of President Mohammed Morsi, who is an Islamist.

    Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi reportedly left the palace via the back door to avoid further confrontation, as crowds vented their fury at Morsi's decree granting him nearly unlimited powers. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

    Government inaction has allowed the problem to spiral out of control, Heba Morayef, director of Human Rights Watch for the Middle East and North Africa, told NBC News. Police no longer inspire fear as they did before the revolution. In addition, locals say it appears there are fewer police on the increasingly lawless streets -- and often none in Tahrir Square.

    "The state is failing to respond,” she said. "Men don’t have to worry about being caught.”

    Analysis: Supporters of Islamist president push Egypt to tipping point

    In addition, filing charges against an attacker is a daunting process in a society where sex is taboo, and police often don’t take allegations seriously, Morayef said. 

    "Failure to prosecute is a major factor in the escalation of violence against women in public places," Morayef said.

    Friend or foe
    On Nov. 19, journalist Sonia Dridi was wrapping up her live report for French Channel 24 from Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square when a crowd of up to 30 men surrounded her.

    As the bodies closed in, Dridi said she concentrated on staying on her feet.

    "I was just looking at (fellow correspondent Ashraf Khalil) and felt hands touching me.  I was trying to concentrate,” Dridi told NBC News by telephone.  “At some point I said to Ashraf, ‘Oh my God, they are touching me.’”

    She didn’t know who was a friend or an attacker. 

    "It is so confusing that at some point I had the impression that those (who were) saying they would help were trying to take advantage,” Dridi said.

    In 'new Egypt', mobs sexually assault women with impunity

    The mob pounded on the glass doors after she reached the safety of a Hardee’s restaurant on Tahrir Square, which has become a sort of refuge for women. Dridi realized her shirt was opened and broke down in tears.

    "The thing that was so sad was that the Hardee’s waiters were … waiting to help me because they are so used to that," she told NBC News. 

    The brave
    Despite the risks, some women are venturing into potentially dangerous situations to stand up for what they believe in.

    "I am afraid of harassment," said Mai Alam, 53, who was in Tahrir Square protesting against a recent Morsi decree giving himself sweeping powers.  "I am with my husband and I keep pepper spray in my purse at all times.”

    Charlene Gubash / NBC News

    Mai Alam, 53, a state TV employee, was accompanied by her husband at a recent rally in Tahrir Square. She carries pepper spray to ward off would-be attackers.

    “But this issue is more important than my fear of sexual harassment,” the Egypt TV employee added.

    And while women find ways of coping with violence, activists have formed groups to protect them. They say the police often don't intervene when women are attacked.

    During a recent holiday, citizen vigilante groups patrolled Cairo during the recent  Id al-Adha holiday, The New York Times reported.

    At a recent march, men wearing fluorescent vests stood on rickety wooden towers and used binoculars to scan the crowd for signs of sexual mobbing.  Local group Fouada Watch has set up a hotline for women, anti-harassment patrols seek to protect women in hot spots and bring alleged offenders to the police, and online services like Harassmap pinpoint dangerous sites. 

    Analysis: Egyptians warn that Morsi is no friend of US

    Prime Minister Hisham Qandil recently announced that a law was being drafted to combat sexual harassment through harsh penalties, calling the issue a "disastrous phenomenon."

    As the government decides what, if anything, to do about the epidemic of violence, women like Al Momtaz continue to try and carve out a normal life in a country that has empowered the bad along with the good. 

    "Everybody thinks that democracy and freedom are a license to do whatever they want," she said.

    NBC News' Taha Belal contributed to this report.

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  • Egypt's Morsi receives draft constitution, announces referendum

    Mona El-Tahawy explains why President Mohammed Morsi's recent decree is very insulting to many Egyptians who demonstrated against Former President Hosni Mubarak's regime.

    By Alistair Lyon and Tamim Elyan, Reuters

    UPDATED AT 3:55 p.m. ET: CAIRO, Egypt -- After Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi received a final draft of the constitution from the Islamist-dominated assembly, he called for a Dec. 15 referendum and urged a national dialogue.

    This latest move indicates that the president aims to appease demonstrators who accused him last week of attempting to assume Pharoah-like status after he expanded his presidential powers.

    The protests come from both sides -- on Saturday, at least 200,000 Islamists demonstrated in Cairo in support of Morsi.

    "The people want the implementation of God's law," chanted flag-waving demonstrators, many of them bused in from the countryside, who choked streets leading to Cairo University, where Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood had called the protest.

    Morsi set the date for a referendum on the constitution after it was hastily approved after a 19-hour session.


    Morsi plunged Egypt into a crisis last week when he gave himself extensive powers and put his decisions beyond judicial challenge, saying this was a temporary measure to speed Egypt's democratic transition until the new constitution is in place.

    His assertion of authority in a decree issued on November 22, a day after he won world praise for brokering a Gaza truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, dismayed his opponents and widened divisions among Egypt's 83 million people.

    Analysis: Egyptians fear decades of Muslim Brotherhood rule, warn Morsi is no friend of US

    Morsi, once a Muslim Brotherhood figure, has put his liberal, leftist, Christian and other opponents in a bind. If they boycott the referendum, the constitution would pass anyway.

    If they secured a "no" vote to defeat the draft, the president could retain the powers he has unilaterally assumed.

    As protesters clashes, President Mohammed Morsi of Egypt announced a referendum on a proposed constitution. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

    And Egypt's quest to replace the basic law that underpinned Mubarak's 30 years of army-backed one-man rule would also return to square one, creating more uncertainty in a nation in dire economic straits and seeking a $4.8 billion loan from the IMF.

    Morsi's well-organized Muslim Brotherhood and its ultra-orthodox Salafi allies, however, are convinced they can win the referendum by mobilizing their own supporters and the millions of Egyptians weary of political turmoil and disruption.

    "There is no place for dictatorship," the president said on Thursday while the constituent assembly was still voting on a constitution which Islamists say enshrines Egypt's new freedoms.

    Video: Morsi loyalists rewrite Egyptian constitution

    Human rights groups have voiced misgivings, especially about articles related to women's rights and freedom of speech.

    The text limits the president to two four-year terms, requires him to secure parliamentary approval for his choice of prime minister, and introduces a degree of civilian oversight over the military - though not enough for critics.

    The draft constitution also contains vague, Islamist-flavored language that its opponents say could be used to whittle away human rights and stifle criticism.

    For example, it forbids blasphemy and "insults to any person", does not explicitly uphold women's rights and demands respect for "religion, traditions and family values."

    The draft injects new Islamic references into Egypt's system of government but retains the previous constitution's reference to "the principles of sharia" as the main source of legislation.

    "We fundamentally reject the referendum and constituent assembly because the assembly does not represent all sections of society," said Sayed el-Erian, 43, a protester in Tahrir and member of a party set up by opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei.

    Several independent newspapers said they would not publish on Tuesday in protest. One of the papers also said three private satellite channels would halt broadcasts on Wednesday.

    Egypt cannot hold a new parliamentary election until a new constitution is passed. The country has been without an elected legislature since the Supreme Constitutional Court ordered the dissolution of the Islamist-dominated lower house in June.

    The court is due to meet on Sunday to discuss the legality of parliament's upper house.

    Meanwhile, at the protests, two people have been killed and hundreds wounded in protests by disparate opposition forces drawn together and re-energized by a decree they see as a dictatorial power grab.

    PhotoBlog: Dueling demonstrations in Cairo

    Tens of thousands of Egyptians had protested against Morsi on Friday. "The people want to bring down the regime," they chanted in Cairo's Tahrir Square, echoing the trademark slogan of the revolts against Hosni Mubarak and Arab leaders elsewhere.

    In the protests supporting Morsi, Mohamed Noshi, 23, a pharmacist from Mansoura, north of Cairo, said he had joined the rally in Cairo to support the president's decree. "Those in Tahrir don't represent everyone. Most people support Morsi and aren't against the decree," he said. 

    Mohamed Ibrahim, a hardline Salafi Islamist scholar and a member of the constituent assembly, said secular-minded Egyptians had been in a losing battle from the start.

    "They will be sure of complete popular defeat today in a mass Egyptian protest that says 'no to the conspiratorial minority, no to destructive directions and yes for stability and sharia (Islamic law)'," he told Reuters.

    Related: Christians, liberals left out as Islamists back Egypt's draft constitution

    "We want stability. Every time, the constitutional court tears down institutions we elect," said Yasser Taha, a 30-year-old demonstrator at the Islamist rally in Cairo.

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  • Egyptians fear decades of Muslim Brotherhood rule, warn Morsi is no friend to US

    As protesters clashes, President Mohammed Morsi of Egypt announced a referendum on a proposed constitution. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

    By Richard Engel, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent

    News Analysis

    TAHRIR SQUARE, CAIRO -- This was the place where the revolution began: the roundish square where Egyptians celebrated Mubarak's fall.

    This is where they are shouting on bullhorns again, outraged because they say the Muslim Brotherhood has stolen the revolution and is railroading though a constitution that could lock in Muslim Brotherhood rule for 50 years, bringing more Islamic law. They cry -- not against Islam -- but that an extremist interpretation is being forced down their throats by a president who critics say is acting every part the tyrant.  

    This is also a warning, they claim, of what may happen across the Middle East. The era of the Muslim Brotherhood appears to have arrived. President Obama has hailed the Brotherhood's President Mohammed Morsi as a pragmatist who helped end the Gaza crisis. Egyptians here think the Brotherhood has conned Washington, just like it conned them.

    Christians, liberals left out as Islamists back Egypt's draft constitution

    "President Obama is supporting a terrorist," a man told me amid chants of "Leave! Leave!" in Tahrir Square and "Down, down with the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader." Before, it was "Down, down with Mubarak."

    Morsi's decree divides Egypt
    Egypt was torn in half just over a week ago when Morsi made himself more powerful than Mubarak ever was, and the kings before him. Morsi declared himself above judicial oversight, his decisions final and unassailable. He made himself, according to critics, a new pharaoh on the Nile. Imagine if, after five months in office, an American president announced that he could pass any law he pleased regardless of Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court. Imagine if he said his decisions were final and inspired by God.

    After issuing a decree making himself more powerful than the courts, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has sparked a wave of anger – some of which is directed toward the United States. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

    Morsi last night apologized for the power grab and said he didn't want the extra authorities, but that they were necessary for the good of the people and to safeguard the revolution. Dictators always say stuff like that. Burn down the village to save it.

    At first Egyptians were shocked that Morsi would make such an obvious and, according to Egyptian judges, blatantly illegal move. It's clear now, as some analysts have long feared, that the brotherhood is making sure it doesn't lose power again by taking control of Egypt's constitution. The Brotherhood wants to write the rules of the game. Now they've done that too.

    PhotoBlog: Dueling demonstrations in Cairo


    Protected by the president's new-found supreme and unquestionable powers, Morsi ordered his Islamist allies to finish writing the constitution and get it on his desk by the end of this week. They did it, even though many independent legal experts, Christians and opposition politicians boycotted the drafting process. The Brotherhood called the new constitution "a jewel." Many Egyptians say it leaves too much room for the implementation of Shariah law.  

    The constitution also empowers the people and government with a duty to uphold moral values, a vague clause that could pave the way for vigilante morality police. The constitution barely mentions protecting women's rights. According to women who were originally involved in the drafting process, and who subsequently left because they felt they were being ignored, clauses specifically demanding that women be protected from violence and sex trafficking were dropped because Islamists feared it would conflict with their desire to allow child brides.

    ANALYSIS: Crisis tests Egyptians' constitution

    The constitution has long been the Muslim Brotherhood's lodestar and, in the past, they have been willing the kill for it. In 1954, not long after a group of 'free officers' carried out a coup against the British-backed monarchy, a Brotherhood assassin tried to kill President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser, a leading free officer, favored a mostly secular, pro-military constitution. The Brotherhood, an Islamist group that supports the return of Arab and Islamic unity and the revival of ancient Muslim glory and Shariah laws, couldn't accept the new rules.

    The Brotherhood's assassination attempt failed. The gunman's eight bullets, fired while Nasser was giving a speech in Alexandria, all missed. The Brotherhood was banned. The group went underground, at times tolerated but more often repressed by Nasser's successors: presidents Mubarak and Anwar el-Sadat. When the revolts started against Mubarak, the Brotherhood saw that fate had given them another chance.

    Muslim Brotherhood's calculated rise to power
    Looking back now, it all seems so obvious, yet many Egyptians refused to see it coming. In fact, many of the secular revolutionaries backed the Brotherhood, arguing they were better allies than the hated military. The Brotherhood played its cards well.

    The Brotherhood was late to join the anti-Mubarak revolts in 2011. When students and liberals initially occupied Tahrir Square, it looked like it might be a passing thing. The Brotherhood either didn't appreciate its significance, or wanted to wait to see who was winning.

    I remember watching the Brothers march into the square. They arrived in a large group of perhaps five hundred. Nearly all were men. Many had beards. Most were dressed in poorly cut dark suits. They occupied a corner of Tahrir near a Kentucky Fried Chicken. They came with microphones and wood to build a platform. The other protesters in the square seemed happy to have the support of the new arrivals.

    Egypt's Morsi, top judges compromise to defuse soaring tensions over decree

    The protests continued to grow. Labor unions went on strike. The military enacted a coup against Mubarak. President Obama withdrew his support for Washington's long-time Arab friend. And Mubarak the president was no more.

    The Brotherhood first said it wouldn't seek the new presidency at all. It promised to exist solely as an influential member of civil society. Back then, many Egyptians feared the Brotherhood. It was a semi-secret group. It had a small office in a Cairo apartment building with a sign on the door the size of an index card. Mubarak-era officials had often described the Brotherhood as a group of terrorists. One security official I know called the Brotherhood the most dangerous group in the world. But in the heady 1960s-like days after Mubarak's resignation, the Brotherhood's bad reputation only seemed to give the group more credibility. They'd been oppressed by the man. It was a new day. Everyone, it appeared, deserved a new beginning.

    The Brotherhood went to work. It organized its considerable finances. It built a big new headquarters with far bigger signs on the doors. It sent its representatives around the world, especially to Washington, on a charm offensive. We've been oppressed, they claimed. We were slandered by a tyrant. We're not what you've heard. We can unite the Sunni world against Iran. We can help bring Israeli-Palestinian peace. There were many promises of a great future.

    Even then, the Brotherhood's focus on the constitution was clear. The Brotherhood insisted the constitution be drafted only after a new president was elected. The military was overseeing a transition back then. The Brotherhood argued that the military couldn't be trusted to oversee the creation of such an important document. Many Egyptians agreed -- a decision some sorely regret today.

    NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin discusses the current unrest in Egypt

    Morsi won the election by a narrow margin and then five months into his term, made himself a dictator and ordered his Islamist friends to quickly finish the constitution. Morsi has said he'll drop his extraordinary powers as soon as the constitution is approved in a referendum in December. Islamists are convinced they'll be able to use their grassroots network of activists to win the referendum like they won the elections. Western diplomats tend to agree.

    Yet the United States has remained mostly silent on all this, urging both sides to stay calm and work it out. Washington's policy seems to be that what's going on is simply democracy in progress as Egyptians learn to use their new rights.

    But in Tahrir Square people seem convinced the Brotherhood isn't testing its fledgling wings. They say Morsi knows exactly what he's doing, Washington be warned. 

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  • Demonstrators clash with Egyptian police in Tahrir Square over Morsi's 'dictatorial powers'

    Khalil Hamra / AP

    Egyptian protesters clash with security forces near Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, on Nov. 28. Egyptian state television says the country's highest appeal court has decided to suspend its work nationwide to protest the president's decrees giving himself nearly absolute powers.

    Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

    Protesters hit a riot policeman, center, after surrounding him during clashes in front of the U.S Embassy near Tahrir Square in Cairo on Nov. 28.

    Reuters -- Hundreds of demonstrators were in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a sixth day on Wednesday to demand that President Mohammed Morsi rescind a decree they say gives him dictatorial powers, and two of Egypt's top courts stopped work in protest.
    But in a move that one Muslim Brotherhood official said could help resolve the worst crisis of Morsi's five-month presidency, the assembly drawing up a new constitution said it would complete work on a final draft on Wednesday.

    The official said the final draft could go to a popular referendum by mid-December. If approved it would cancel the constitutional declaration that extended Morsi's powers and sparked street protests that drew tens of thousands on Tuesday. Brotherhood and other Islamists have called for a rally backing the president on Saturday. Continue reading.

    Analysis: Egypt learns the art of politics amid protests challenging Morsi's decree

    Gianluigi Guercia / AFP - Getty Images

    Protesters face Egyptian riot Police during clashes on Omar Makram street, off Tahrir Square, on Nov. 28 in Cairo. Police fired tear gas into Cairo's Tahrir Square, where several hundred protesters spent the night after a mass rally to denounce President Mohammed Morsi's assumption of expanded powers.

    Mahmoud Khaled / AFP - Getty Images

    Egyptian riot police detain a man during clashes on Omar Makram street, off Tahrir Square, on Nov. 28 in Cairo.

    Khaled Elfiqi / EPA

    A general view shows Egyptian protesters and make-shift tenets at Tahrir Square, in Cairo Nov. 28. Media reports state that new clashes erupted in Cairo between security forces and protesters angry at a decree by President Mohamed Morsi granting himself sweeping new powers. Police fired tears gas against the stone-throwing protesters in Tahrir Square, where thousands have been camping out for several days in a bid to convince Morsi to rescind the decree.

    Since Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi launched his far-reaching constitutional decree that essentially gives him unchecked power, large scale protests have returned to Tahrir Square. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

    Previously on PhotoBlog:

  • 'Leave, leave': Egyptians gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest president's decree

    A protester runs to throw a tear gas canister back to riot police during clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday. President Mohammed Morsi's declaration last week of new powers for himself has sparked days of demonstrations.

    By The Associated Press

    CAIRO — Egyptian protesters and police clashed in Cairo on Tuesday just hours ahead of a planned massive rally by opponents of the country's Islamist president demanding he rescind decrees that granted him near-absolute powers.

    Police fired tear gas and hundreds of protesters pelted them with rocks at a street between the U.S. Embassy and Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime nearly two years ago.


    The protesters have been staging a sit-in at the square since Friday night to demand President Mohammed Morsi revoke his decrees.

     

    By midday, hundreds were starting to gather in Tahrir, chanting against Morsi's decrees and the Brotherhood. A new banner in the square proclaimed, "The Brotherhood stole the country."

    "We are here to bring down the constitutional declaration issued by Morsi," said one protester at Tahrir, Mahmoud Youssef.

    Egypt's Morsi, top judges compromise to defuse soaring tensions over decree

    Hundreds of lawyers meanwhile gathered outside their union building in downtown Cairo ahead of their march to Tahrir. "Leave, leave," they chanted, addressing Morsi.

    The rally planned for later Tuesday, with marches from various parts of Cairo to converge on Tahrir, is to be a significant test of the opposition's ability to bring out supporters and the public against Morsi's edicts issued last week.

    The opposition says the decrees give Morsi near dictatorial powers by neutralizing the judiciary at a time when he already holds executive and legislative powers. Key parts of the judicial system have denounced the measures.

    After encountering a wave of protests in response to a decree from Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi that would have raised his edicts above judicial review, Morsi moved quickly to contain the damage. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

    Morsi, in office since June, says the decrees are necessary to protect the "revolution" and the nation's transition to democratic rule. His declaration made all his decisions immune to judicial review and banned the courts from dissolving the upper house of parliament and an assembly writing the new constitution, both of which are dominated by Islamists. The decree also gave Morsi sweeping authority to stop any "threats" to the revolution.

    Morsi's supporters canceled a massive rally they had planned for Tuesday, citing the need to "defuse tension" after a series of clashes between the two camps since the decrees were issued Thursday.

    But a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, the fundamentalist group from which Morsi hails, said demonstrations supporting the president could go ahead outside the capital and that supporters would form human chains in some provinces to protect Brotherhood offices. Morsi's supporters say more than a dozen of their offices have been ransacked or set ablaze since Friday.

    President within his rights?
    On Monday, Morsi met with the nation's top judges and tried to win their acceptance of his decrees. But the move was dismissed by many in the opposition and the judiciary as providing no real concessions.

    Riot police use tear gas on protesters during clashes in Tahrir Square on Tuesday.

    Presidential spokeman Yasser Ali, said Morsi told the judges that he acted within his rights as the nation's sole source of legislation, assuring them that the decrees were temporary and did not in any way infringe on the judiciary. He underlined repeatedly that the president had no plans to change or amend his decrees.

    According to a presidential statement late Monday, Morsi told the judges that his decree meant that any decisions he makes on "issues of sovereignty" are immune from judicial review.

    The vaguely worded statement did not define those issues, but they were widely interpreted to cover declaration of war, imposition of martial law, breaking diplomatic relations with a foreign nation or dismissing a Cabinet. Morsi's original edict, however, explicitly gives immunity to all his decisions and there was no sign it had been changed.

    Photoblog: Protesters in Tahrir Square hold funeral for activist killed in clashes

    The statement Monday did not touch the immunity that Morsi gave the constitutional assembly or the upper chamber of parliament, known as the Shura Council. It also did not affect the edict that the president can take any measures he sees as necessary to stop threats to the revolution, stability or public institutions. Many see that edict as granting Morsi unlimited emergency powers.

    The Shura Council does not have lawmaking authorities but, in the absence of the more powerful lower chamber, the People's Assembly, it is the only popularly elected, national body where the Brotherhood and other Islamists have a majority. The People's Assembly was dissolved by a court ruling in June.

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    © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • Protesters in Tahrir Square hold funeral for activist killed in clashes

    Gianluigi Guercia / AFP - Getty Images

    Egyptian activists carry the coffin of Gaber Salah, an activist who died overnight after he was critically injured in clashes with police last week, during his funeral in Tahrir Square on Nov. 26.

    Hussein Tallal / AP

    Egyptians carry the body of Gaber Salah during his funeral procession in Cairo on Nov. 26.

    Thousands of Egyptians on Monday gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square to attend the funeral of youth activist Gaber Salah, who was severely injured during clashes with security forces last Monday and died Sunday night. Activists have been gathering in the square to protest the seizure of new powers by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. The demonstrations have been reminiscent of an uprising last year that led to the rise of Morsi's Islamist movement.

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    Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

    A mourner wearing chains attends the funeral of youth activist Gaber Salah.

    Khaled Elfiqi / EPA

    Egyptian protesters react during the funeral of Gaber Salah.

    Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

    A masked protester during clashes with police in Tahrir Square on Nov. 26.

    Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters

    Mourners attend the funeral of activist Gaber Salah in Cairo.

    Ahmed Abdel Fattah / AP

    The tents of activists in Tahrir Square on Nov. 26.

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  • Egypt's Morsi, top judges compromise to defuse soaring tensions over decree

    After encountering a wave of protests in response to a decree from Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi that would have raised his edicts above judicial review, Morsi moved quickly to contain the damage. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

    By Jim Maceda, NBC News

    CAIRO — Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and top Egyptian judges on Monday moved to defuse a crisis in the country, with both sides backing down from a battle over Morsi’s sweeping self-appointed powers.

    Coming out of emergency meetings in Cairo, Morsi issued a statement in which he agreed that only his decisions related to "sovereign" matters would be protected from judicial review, his spokesman said, indicating he had accepted a compromise proposed by the judiciary members.

    On Thursday Morsi alarmed Egyptians and international observers when he decreed sweeping powers for himself that effectively would automatically make all of his rulings lawful and immune to judicial review.


    The seeming power grab prompted tens of thousands of Egyptians to take to the streets to protest, some clashing with police, for the past four nights.

    Morsi’s four-point statement issued Monday says that only "sovereign decisions" — for instance, those related to declaring war and dealing with existential threats — would fall under the decree. Even those powers would only apply until there is a new constitution and fresh parliamentary elections, expected in two months.

    The statement went on to express respect for the "immunity and independence" of the judiciary. It also qualified his earlier call for a retrial of former regime officials — including dictator Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in February 2011 after three decades in power. Such retrials would occur only if new evidence emerged, the statement said.

    Morsi was propelled to power by the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that had long struggled against the Mubarak regime.

    The judges did not release their own statement but the presidential spokesman said that they had approved the compromise.

    Shortly after a presidential spokesman read the statement on Egyptian TV, the Muslim Brotherhood — the parent organization of Morsi’s Freedom & Justice Party — issued its own statement, calling off its planned 'millionya' — or 'million man march' — "until further notice." Their rally, in support of Morsi, had been slated for Tuesday.

    Photoblog: Protesters in Tahrir Square hold funeral for activist killed in clashes

    Mohamed Beltagui, a top Muslim Botherhood official, who appeared on the broadcast, explained that the organization was making the change to avoid any potential violence, and in hopes of opening up a 'channel of dialogue' with Morsi’s opponents. 

    Egyptian Presidency via EPA

    President Mohammed Morsi, center, meeting with top Egyptian judges in Cairo on Monday in an effort to defuse a crisis over Morsi's self-proclaimed powers, announced on Thursday.

    Both the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi's opposition had called for mass demonstrations on Tuesday, raising fears that heightened emotions could lead to clashes in the streets.

    Despite these developments, opposition leaders said they would continue their protest until Morsi completely rescinded his 'dictatorial' decree.

    Meanwhile, the several hundred protesters camped in Cairo’s Tahrir Square — the site of the 2011 uprising — say they intend to continue their 'sit-in.'

    Some declared that Morsi is irrelevant.

    "It’s over," said one protester who runs a medical clinic for injured protesters off the square. "The second revolution has already begun."

    Another said Morsi needs to tear up his decree and resign.

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  • Egypt's Morsi says he wants to stabilize country, not become a Pharaoh

    Egypt's President Morsi is expected to meet with the country's top judges after he granted himself sweeping legislative powers, a move opponents say is reverting the country to a dictatorship. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Cairo.

    By Isolde Raftery, NBC News

    Responding to violent protests over the last four days, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi insisted that he assumed control of the judiciary to stabilize the country – not to concentrate power.


    Protesters say that Morsi, who became the country’s first democratically-elected president on June 30, issued a decree of near-total executive power to elevate himself to Pharaoh-like status. They also worry that Morsi and his supporters will draft a constitution that will put Egypt on track to becoming like Turkey or religiously conservative Iran.

    Morsi’s supporters say his control of the courts is temporary – a necessary move, they say, because the courts are governed by former President Hosni Mubarak appointees who have blocked the country's transition to democracy.

    According to the BBC, a statement by the presidency emphasized that Morsi's measures were implemented to avoid “attempts to undermine democratically elected bodies and preserve the impartiality of the judiciary."

    Egyptian Presidency / AP

    Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi speaks to supporters outside the presidential palace in Cairo. As judges strike against the president for assuming control of the judiciary, protesters say that Morsi is trying to grab power. Morsi insists he's trying to ease the country's transition to democracy.

    Regardless of Morsi’s intent, the fallout has been acute. Six of his aides resigned Sunday, and stock markets plunged by 10 percent in Egypt. Youth protesters attacked the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party – with which Morsi is affiliated – killing one and wounding 60. Fights have even broken out between journalists covering the escalating tension.

    The BBC’s Jon Leyne wrote that Morsi’s actions – whether naïve or over-confident – could result in sectarian struggle. Morsi issued his decree on Thursday, the day after he was lauded by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for helping to negotiate a truce between the Palestinians and Israel.

    In Cairo’s Tahrir Square, NBC’s Jim Maceda reported that Egyptians are understandably nervous, given their political history. Mubarak maintained military rule for three decades before he was overthrown during the Arab Spring revolution in February 2011.

    That sentiment was reflected in a statement by the liberal Constitution party, according to the Guardian: "We are facing a historic moment in which we either complete our revolution or we abandon it to become prey for a group that has put its narrow party interests above the national interest."

    Morsi says he is committed to finding “common ground” with other political parties, and he plans to meet with senior judges on Monday to work toward a compromise, the BBC reported. Meanwhile, both sides have called for mass protests in Cairo on Tuesday.

    As Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi said he took the power of the courts to impose stability, protesters argued he is becoming a dictator. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

    U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland weighed in on Friday, Al Jazeera reported, saying that Morsi’s declarations “raise concerns for many Egyptians and for the international community.”

    "One of the aspirations of the revolution was to ensure that power would not be overly concentrated in the hands of any one person or institution," Nuland said.

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  • Egypt's liberals and Islamists clash in violent protests

    Khalil Hamra / AP

    Protesters chant slogans in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, on Oct. 12. Supporters of Egypt's new Islamist president stormed a stage erected by opposition activists, smashed loudspeakers and tore the structure down during competing protests Friday in Cairo. The scuffles between supporters and opponents of President Mohammed Morsi reflect deep political divisions among the country's 82 million people, more than a year after the popular uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

    Reuters -- Opponents and supporters of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi clashed in Cairo on Friday in the first street violence between rival factions since the Islamist leader took office.

    Islamists and their opponents threw stones, bottles and petrol bombs, and some fought hand-to-hand, showing how feelings still run high between the rival groups trying to shape the new Egypt after decades of autocracy, even though the streets have generally been calmer since Mursi's election in June.

    Continue reading.

    Khaled Desouki / AFP - Getty Images

    An anti-Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohamed Morsi protester cries on the ground as a man tries to calm him down during clashes with Morsi supporters in Tahrir square, in Cairo, on Oct. 12, in the worst violence over Egypt's new Islamist leader, a day after he crossed swords with the judiciary. The health ministry said at least 12 people were wounded as protesters showered each other with stones, after Morsi supporters tore down a podium from which anti-Brotherhood chants were being orchestrated.

    EPA

    Egyptian Muslim brotherhood protesters take away an injured comrade hit during clashes with opponents of President Mohamed Mursi in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, on Oct. 12.

    Activists were in the streets of Cairo today demanding more action from President Mohammed Morsi. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

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