Egypt's interim president announced a month-long state of emergency in Egypt, sparking intense debate.
Many Egyptians showed concern that this might mean further clamping down on freedoms, and justification to increase violence against Egyptians to suppress the opposition without "having to respect human rights."
Egyptians lived under Emergency Law from 1967 to 2012, which started during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Some 17,000 Egyptians were detained under the law and there were 30,000 political prisoners.
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration, usually made during wars or after natural disasters, which suspends the functions of the executive, legislative, and judicial powers. In many cases it is used as a rationale for suspending rights and freedoms, even if guaranteed under the constitution. Among many extraordinary measures, this modification of government functions gives the state the right to arrest citizens without warrants,
