Egyptian NSF calls for fresh protests

Egypt’s opposition bloc National Salvation Front (NSF) has called for a “million-man demonstration” to protest against President Mohammed Morsi’s perceived politicisation of the judiciary. Liberal and revolutionary groups, including the April 6 Movement and National Revolutionary Party, object to the appointment of Talat Ibrahim as Egypt’s public prosecutor. “We demand Talat Ibrahim be excluded from his position,” the group said in a statement on Friday. Earlier this week, Egyptian courts overturned an earlier decision by President Morsi to sack Mubarak-era public prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud. The ousted president appointed Maguid Mahmoud for life during his 30-year rule. Demonstrators have meanwhile taken to the spiritual home of the Egyptian revolution – Cairo’s Tahrir Square – blocking traffic and expelling shops from the protest space. Merchants responded on Thursday, burning protesters’ tents and expelling them from the square. Four citizens have been arrested, accused of burning tents.