Egypt Supreme Court rules parts of protest law unconstitutional

CAIRO -- Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court on Saturday ruled parts of an article of a controversial protest law were unconstitutional, official MENA news agency reported, in a move that cancels the authority of the Interior Ministry to ban rallies.

An item of the article 10 of the law entitling "security forces to prevent protests, and another regulating the right of public assembly and peaceful protests were ruled unconstitutional.

Under Saturday's ruling, the Interior Ministry will no longer have the authority to ban any protests, according to legal experts.

The court rejected other appeals on other articles of the pretest law.

In January 2015, the administrative court in Cairo decided to suspend looking into an appeal against the protest law filed by human rights lawyers until the constitutional court reviews the constitutionality of the law.

Former Interim President Adly Mansour issued the law in 2013, granting the Interior Ministry the power to ban protests or political assembly without prior police permits.

The law was issued at a time of frequent clashes between the Muslim Brotherhood supporters and security forces.

Human Rights Watch condemned the law as "violation of international standards."

Hundreds of students and activists serve prison terms for violating the law in question, the most prominent of who is Ahmed Maher, the leader of April 6 Movement that spearheaded the 2011 uprising that ousted long-time President Hosni Mubarak.