The Egyptian army continued to impose the night curfew despite a ruling by the administrative court that the state of emergency be lifted.
The curfew continued on Monday night even after the order earlier in the day to lift the 3-month-old state of emergency. The military spokesman said the army will continue to enforce the night curfew until it receives an official notification. The court also rejected a lawsuit filed by lawyer Ahmed El-Seif El-Islam, who challenged the validity of the decision to extend the state of emergency in September.
Cabinet spokesperson Sherif Shawky said the state of emergency has been officially lifted in accordance with the court's ruling, Egypt state TV reported. However, military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali said on Tuesday that the Egyptian army will continue to enforce the nightly curfew until it receives an official notification that court has ordered an end to the state of emergency.
The emergency was originally imposed by a presidential decree on 14 August, following the bloody dispersal of two protest camps in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. In mid-September, it was extended for another two months, and slated to end on 14 November.
On Monday, Egypt's tourism minister announced that the state of emergency had been lifted in the Sinai tourist city of Sharm El-Sheikh and in the Red Sea governorate. It remains unclear whether or not the curfew - implemented in tandem with the state of emergency in August - will be lifted.
The curfew currently extends from 1 AM to 5 AM, except for Fridays, the traditional day of protest, when it begins at 7 PM. The main challenge, if the emergency law is lifted, will be whether former president Hosni Mubarak will return to his house awaiting the end of his retrial.
Mubarak had already spent the maximum possible time behind bars awaiting a court verdict according to Egyptian law. He was released but placed under house arrest by virtue of a presidential decree made possible by the state of emergency.
Once the state of emergency is lifted, Mubarak might be able to walk back home.
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