Muslim Brotherhood to take part in Friday’s protest

Egyptians protesting in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has announced that they will participate in Friday’s “Deafening silence” protests. The group has also warned that further protests will take place across the country if preparations for elections did not take place this September. Elections are currently scheduled for November and December this year. The Brotherhood has given the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) a September 27 deadline, after which the Brotherhood will consider its rule to be illegitimate.
Mohammad Biltagi, the Secretary General of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, said that the Brotherhood will participate in Friday’s “Deafening silence” protests unless two conditions were met. Firstly, the Brotherhood demands that political parties are consulted over the new emergency law and that it is abolished before the parliamentary elections in line with SCAF’s promises. Secondly, the Brotherhood demands that the SCAF does not exploit protests to justify further repression.
A member of the Brotherhood’s central office, Hassan Al Brins said: “we were raised by the Brotherhood to be martyrs, so we will stage protests and sit-ins in Tahrir Square if the government stops listening to the demands of the nation.”
A Brotherhood leader, Subhi Saleh, rejected the Supreme Council’s attempt to pass extra-constitutional laws which are thought to represent the military’s attempt to retain power following the elections. Not all parties will be participating in Friday’s protest.
The National Assembly for Change has refused to take part in Friday’s protests. The Assembly is the major backer of the former chief of the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA), Mohammed El-Baradei’s bid for Presidential nomination.
The General Coordinator for the Assembly, Abdel Jalil Mustafa said that the Assembly would not be participating in the protest.
Meanwhile, the Cairo Criminal Court has adjourned the “Battle of the Camels” hearing after one of the accused insulted a witness. Sources who attended the court said that Chancellor Abdullah declared that the accused, Murtaza Mansoor, could not attend further sessions after interrupting the testimony of Mohammed Ali Suleiman.
Suleiman alleged that he was surrounded by a group of “thugs” (including Mansoor) in a white car. He claims that the car’s occupants were inciting violence against protesters in Tahrir Square.
Mansoor swore at Suleiman after being called a “thug”, shouting: “have some respect for yourself, I am not a thug, and you’re lying.”
Chaos ensued, forcing the judge to adjourn the case. Egypt’s former-Interior Minister,  Mahmoud Wagdy, also arrived at the court today to give testimony in the separate murder case against the former-President Hosni Mubarak, his sons, Alaa and Gamal, and seven of Mubarak’s top allies.
Wagdi was Egypt’s Interior Minister in the time of the “Battle of the Camels”, but he stands in the Mubarak trial as a witness rather than a defendant. Commentators have speculated that Wagdi might decide to take a revenge and give a testimony against another former-Interior Minister, Habib Al-Adli, as they have long had a bad relationship. A lawyer of a victim’s family said that a small number of “Mubarak’s sons” and “We are sorry President” groups were present outside the court, in contrast to the crowds of victims’ families who held up photos of their children and chanted phrases demanding justice.