An Egyptian court has ordered an end to a state of emergency two days ahead of schedule, and three months after it was imposed during a crackdown on Islamist protesters.
The decision was welcomed by the United States, which sounded a note of caution by urging the military-installed government to "respect the rights of all Egyptians" amid reports it is preparing to tighten rules on protests.
The cabinet says it will respect the ruling but wait for official notification from the court before implementing it.
"The government is committed to implement judicial rulings ... (and) is waiting for the text of the ruling," a statement said.
Interim president Adly Mansour declared the state of emergency on August 14 as violence gripped Egypt after police dispersed two large protest camps in Cairo set up by supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Hundreds of people, mainly Morsi supporters, were killed in clashes during the crackdown, while Islamists elsewhere retaliated by attacking security forces and Christian churches, businesses and homes.
The state of emergency, accompanied by a night-time curfew, had been scheduled to expire on Thursday.
The administrative court dismissed an appeal against the state of emergency and instead ruled that it ended on Tuesday, the official MENA news agency reported.
According to an interim constitution decreed by Mansour, extending the state of emergency any longer would have required a referendum.
The military also says it will continue to enforce the nightly curfew until receiving official notification.
The state of emergency granted broad powers of arrest to soldiers deployed on the streets, especially during curfew hours.
"In practice, the state of emergency was only being used for the curfew and arrest powers for the military," said Heba Morayef, head of Human Rights Watch in Egypt.
"It was the symbolism. The interior ministry seems to have this belief that repressive laws are a deterrent."
Egypt has been under almost continuous emergency law since 1967, with breaks in 1981 and after president Hosni Mubarak's overthrow in early 2011.
Share
