Egypt protesters rally to denounce planned referendum

Thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets in Cairo and other cities around the country to denounce an upcoming referendum on a newly-amended constitution, Press TV reports.

Clashes erupted between the protesters and riot police during the Tuesday protests. More than a dozen students and supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi were injured during the clashes.

Egyptian riot police fired tear gas at student protesters outside Assiut University in Assiut Province while the students were chanting slogans against the “military coup,” which led to the ouster of Morsi.

The protesting students were also holding banners in support of Morsi, calling the new constitution “the coup’s constitution.”

“We are here to denounce this coup and its illegitimate constitution. We are also demanding the release of our peers over unlawful detention for their support to the legitimacy of our president,” a protesting student told Press TV.

The ongoing demonstrations come as the Egypt rulers plan a referendum on the country’s new constitution in mid-January. The vote will be the first measure of support for the military’s ouster of Egypt’s first democratically-elected president.

Many commentators believe the new law will help the Egyptian military to tighten its grip on power as it allows for the trial of civilians in military courts and contains a provision that could lead to an outright ban on Islamic parties.

Under the new constitution, gatherings of more than 10 people require a written permit three days prior to the protest. It also makes illegal any formation of religious parties; in addition, all activities carried out by those parties would be illegal.

On December 16, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-led ‘anti-coup alliance’ said in a statement that it would boycott the upcoming referendum on the new constitution, calling it a product of the military coup.