10 on Egypt constitution panel halt work over arrests

Ten members of the panel drafting Egypt's new constitution suspended work today after authorities arrested several protesters, including a few prominent activists, a committee member said.
Hoda El-Sadda, a senior member of the 50-member panel, told AFP she and nine others had "suspended work after the arrest of protesters".
As a result, the panel suspended its work for the day, but adjourned its session for tomorrow morning, television reports said.
Egyptian police arrested about 30 protesters among dozens demonstrating in Cairo against an article in the revised basic law that allows the military to try civilians in certain cases, a security official said.

The action was taken because the demonstration was unauthorised, officials said, referring to a disputed new protest law enacted at the weekend which requires protest organisers to give three days' written notice to authorities.
Today, protesters were demonstrating in front of the Shura Council, where the constitution panel sits, when police used water cannon to disperse them and later made arrests.

Among those arrested were Mona Seif, founder of a campaign against military trials of civilians, and Ahmad Harara, a dentist who lost his eyes to birdshot during protests against Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and against the military junta that ruled Egypt immediately after Mubarak's fall.

Another panel member, Khaled Youssef, also criticised authorities for arresting the protesters as he suspended his work on the committee.
"What is happening is threatening the future of our country because this committee of 50 faces risk of exploding. This committee is the cornerstone of the road map," Youssef said on state television, referring to the transitional plan outlined by Egypt's interim rulers after they came to power following the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
The road map envisages that a new constitution, a new parliament and a new president should be in place by the summer of 2014.

Activists, meanwhile, vented their anger at today's protest crackdown.
"This won't stop the protest", said Alaa Abdel Fattah, a prominent activist and brother of Seif.
"They used water cannon and then started beating and arresting people," he told AFP.