Egyptian authorities detain 24 for protesting

Egyptian authorities took a step today toward prosecuting 24 detained activists for holding a street rally and violating a new law banning protests without permits, fuelling calls for new protests in a mounting confrontation between the military-backed government and democracy advocates.
The Cabinet vowed to continue implementing the law, linking it to Egypt's fight against terrorism, a term used to label actions by supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group. Still, the Interior Ministry appeared to be trying to avoid an immediate clash, saying it has granted a permit for a protest today.
The announcement by prosecutors that the activists would be held for questioning came a day after security forces broke up two small protests in Cairo by secular activists, blasting them with water cannons and beating many. A group of around a dozen female protesters were detained by police and dropped off in the desert in the middle of the night to intimidate them, several of them said.

It was the first implementation of the controversial protest law issued earlier this week which rights experts, activists and some politicians allied to the government have blasted as dragging Egypt back into the authoritarian ways of Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in 2011.
The government has said the law is necessary to put an end to persistent protests by supporters of Morsi, the elected president who was removed by the military in July in popularly backed coup. Instead, it has sparked a confrontation with secular youth activists and revealed fragility of the loose alliance that emerged after the coup against Morsi.

Youth groups called for protests today to press for the detainees' release and push the government to abolish the law. By midday, a handful of protesters headed to Cairo's city centre.
The Interior Ministry said on its Facebook page that it had given the protesters permission to hold their rally today afternoon. While it was not clear if any of the organisers applied for the permission, the new law requires organisers to apply for a permit at least three days ahead of the demonstration, suggesting that the ministry acted unilaterally to avert a repeat of yesterday's scenes of violence.
Still, the Cabinet said in a statement that it is determined to implement the protest law with "all firmness and force" and give full support to the police, "so freedom doesn't turn to chaos.