Protest in Cairo defies and mocks government ban

CAIRO — Days after a court-ordered ban on the April 6 Movement, a few hundred of its members ridiculed the government during a protest in defiance of Egypt’s protest law, holding up balloons and a cake in mock celebration of the ban, and a watermelon inscribed, “Your mother is banned.”

A court on April 28 ordered a freeze on April 6 activities, charging the movement with defamation of the state and espionage. The group has been the target of smear campaigns by opponents and officials since the spring 2011 uprising, facing similar accusations from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) that assumed power after President Hosni Mubarak resigned.