Egypt's Morsy defends decree as protesters clash with security forces

By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 3:27 PM EST, Sun November 25, 2012

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy waves to supporters in front of the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday, November 23. Thousands of ecstatic supporters gathered outside the presidential palace to defend their leader against accusations from rival protesters that he has become a dictator.

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Egyptians protest over presidential powers

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: The Muslim Brotherhood says one of its members is killed by "thugs"
• Morsy says the temporary measures "are not meant to concentrate powers"
• Demonstrators in Tahrir Square say they won't leave until Morsy rescinds his decrees
• A presidential adviser resigns in protest

Cairo (CNN) -- Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy on Sunday defended his controversial decree limiting the power of the country's judiciary, one of several moves that have spurred dissenters to call him a dictator.

Morsy's office promised the new powers he's claiming are temporary, aimed at "preserving the impartiality of the judiciary ... to avoid politicizing it." He didn't specify what he meant by temporary.

"The presidency reiterates the temporary nature of the said measures, which are not meant to concentrate powers," the president's office said in a statement.

On Thursday, Morsy announced that courts could not overturn any decree or law he has issued since taking office in June and, beyond that, in the six months until a new constitution is finalized, his spokesman said on state-run TV.

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Farouk Guweida, an adviser to Morsy, resigned in objection to the decree, presidential adviser Esam El Erian said Sunday.

And a wave of fresh clashes erupted in Egypt as divisions widened between those who resent the president's new powers and those who support him.

The latest clashes broke out between protesters and security forces on the outskirts of Cairo's Tahrir Square Sunday, Egypt's state-run Nile TV reported. And protests also erupted outside the capital, according to the Interior Ministry.

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Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement Morsy once led, has said it is staging nationwide demonstrations to back the president's plans. It announced a "million man" demonstration Tuesday at Abdeen Square in Cairo to support Morsy.

The opposition is also planning a major protest Tuesday. Protesters have vowed to stay in Cairo's Tahrir Square until Morsy rescinds last week's decrees, and the general assembly of the Egypt Judges Club has called for a nationwide strike in all courts and prosecution offices.

Morsy will meet with the country's Supreme Judicial Council on Monday, the newspaper said.

Stocks plunged amid the political tension, with the Egyptian stock market closing almost 10% lower Sunday at the end of the trading day -- the market's first since Morsy's power consolidation.

Tahrir Square, the focal point of a popular uprising last year that forced longtime leader Hosni Mubarak out of office, was once again the epicenter of demonstrations Sunday.

White tents dotted the area, just as they did during 2011.

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The decree "gives President Morsy the powers of a new pharaoh in Egypt," protester Mohamed Abdul Wahab said. "Actually, there was never a pharaoh like this before, because ... Mubarak, with all his arrogance and dictatorial tendencies, never gave himself the power that no one can appeal his decisions."

One of Egypt's leading pro-democracy advocates called Sunday for Morsy to rescind his decrees.

"There is no middle ground about it. ... There is no room for compromise. If he wants a dialogue, he has to rescind these measures," said Mohammed ElBaradei, a Nobel laureate and head of Egypt's Constitution Party.

On Sunday, both sides appeared to be standing their ground.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party praised Morsy's approach.

"The president's decrees contained in his recent constitutional declaration fulfill many revolutionary goals demanded by all political, social and popular groups that participated in the January 25 revolution -- for freedom, dignity and social justice," the party said in a statement.

In recent days, clashes between protesters and police have been reported in the capital, the port city of Alexandria and elsewhere around the North African nation.

Protesters tried to attack offices of the Muslim Brotherhood overnight in the northern city of Damanhour, Egypt's Interior Ministry said Sunday. Supporters of the movement fought back, and arrests and injuries were reported, the ministry said. On its Facebook page, the Muslim Brotherhood said that one of its members had been killed by "thugs."

Since Morsy made his announcement Thursday, at least 261 people have been injured in clashes in Cairo and elsewhere, according to EGYNews, which cited the Health Ministry. EGYNews gave no breakdown as to who was hurt.

Interior Ministry spokesman Alaa Mahmoud said 128 police officers were injured in clashes nationwide.

On Saturday, Egypt's highest judicial body joined protesters in lambasting Morsy for issuing a decree disabling the courts and giving himself unchecked power.

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The Supreme Judicial Council called the decree an "unprecedented attack on the independence of the judicial branch," state-run media reported.

The general assembly of the Egypt Judges Club called for a nationwide strike in all courts and prosecution offices to protest the president's move, state-run Nile TV reported.

Judges in Alexandria and Damanhour said they were putting all court hearings on hold until further notice.

Yet other judges offered support for Morsy. The Judges for Egypt movement, a nongovernmental organization, denounced any call for a strike, according to state-run TV.

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Last week, Morsy insisted his actions are in the interests of the Egyptian people.

"I have dedicated myself and my life for democracy and freedom," he told hundreds of supporters outside the presidential palace in Cairo. "The steps I took are meant to achieve political and social stability."

The president also fired Egypt's prosecutor general, who has been accused of insufficient prosecutions of those suspected in demonstrators' deaths in 2011.

In the statement Sunday, Morsy's office said last week's measures were "deemed necessary in order to hold accountable those responsible for the corruption as well as other crimes during the previous regime and the transitional period."

Amid the turmoil in Cairo, a bomb exploded at a Central Security Forces camp in North Sinai province, a security official said.

North Sinai security head Gen. Sameh Bishady said no soldiers were at the camp in el-Arish, and no casualties were reported. But it was the second explosion in the same area in less than 24 hours.

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