CAIRO: Egyptian human rights organizations filed a lawsuit on Sunday against the Egyptian military and government officials for blocking roads in downtown Cairo. They demanded the opening of main arteries in the center of the city, including Qasr el-Aini Street and Mohamed Mahmoud Street, both the sites of violent clashes in recent months. The lawsuit filed by The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights at the State Council Administrative Court, demanded the reopening of these streets, which were blocked by concrete walls by security forces after violent clashes erupted between protesters and security forces in Mohamed Mahmoud Street, which leads to the Ministry of Interior, on November 19, and Qasr el-Aini Street, blocked on December 16 by the military to force protesters away from the Cabinet building. “I think this is the best thing that needed to be done, because the walls are hurting our business and making people go other ways to get places. It is not good,” store-owner Abdel Gabr told Bikyamasr.com. The case has been filed against the head of ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Hussein Tantawi, Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzoury, the Interior Ministry, the Cairo government and the Ministry of local development for refusing to open the streets of Qasr El-Aini and Mohamed Mahmoud for pedestrians and cars. It was filed according to the request of the Editor of Al Badeel news website Khaled El-Balshy, as an Egyptian citizen “who was affected by the roads blocking as he lives near Mohamed Mahmoud Street and works near Qasr el-Aini Street” and described the matter as a “great violation of constitutional rights.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/veqEC Tags: featured, Lawsuit, Mohamed Mahmoud, Qasr el-Aini, SCAF, Walls Section: Egypt, Human Rights, Latest News
