Cairo: A three-decade emergency law which allows detention without trial expired on Thursday in Egypt with neither the military rulers nor the Islamist-dominated parliament requesting its extension.
The military said in a statement carried by the official Middle East News Agency that it would continue to be responsible for the nation’s security until power is transferred to an elected president by the end of June.
“This is based on the national and historical responsibility of the armed forces and in view of the expiry of the emergency state,” the ruling military council added in a statement.
The notorious law has been in force in Egypt since late president Anwar Sadat was assassinated by militants in October 1981.
The government of the toppled president Hosni Mubarak used to automatically renew the mandate of the law amid protest from the opposition. Human rights groups say the Mubarak regime wielded the law to crack down on opponents.
In the final hours before the law expired, the parliament said it did not have the powers to make a decision.
Meanwhile, Minister of International Cooperation Faiza Abu Al Naja said on Thursday it was up to the parliament, not the government, to decide on the fate of the law.
“The fact that the ruling military council has not requested the extension of this law shows that the council is capable of maintaining security in the country without it,” said MP Mustafa Al Guindy.
“This is a good step, which Egyptians had long called for before the revolution,” he said, referring the revolt that deposed Mubarak more than a year ago.
The expiry of the law comes two weeks before a tense presidential run-off vote pitting Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammad Mursi against Ahmad Shafiq, Mubarak’s last premier.
Anti-Mubarak opponents have threatened to take to the streets in protest if Shafiq, an ex-army general, wins.