Morsy praises voters for constitution

Mohamed Morsy signs new Egyptian constitutionHe praises the voters for its passage in a referendumBut he criticizes protests that turned violent

(CNN) -- Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy signed his country's new constitution into law Wednesday, praising the democratic process by which it was ratified, and criticizing some of those who rallied against it.

"We are standing today to celebrate and rejoice our new constitution, its historic day," Morsy said. "Egypt and the Egyptians have a free constitution that is not (decreed) by king, or forced by a president or ordered by an occupier."

His signature comes after Egyptian voters approved the Islamist-backed constitution by a nearly 2 to 1 ratio.

The path to the referendum was contentious and led to a series of moves that critics viewed as a power grab by Morsy, leading to protests, often violent.

"Unfortunately, some did not realize the difference between the peaceful right to express (their) opinion, and between the sliding into violence and (trying) to force their opinion by halting the state institutions, and terrorizing citizens," Morsy said.

During the two rounds of voting, more than 10 million, or 63.8%, voted in favor, and more than 6 million, or 36.2%, voted against, Judge Samr Abou El Maaty, head of the High Election Commission, told reporters.

The referendum passed with 56.6% of the vote in the first round on December 15, when more liberal provinces voted.

In the second round of voting, on December 22, people cast ballots in 17 provinces largely loyal to Morsy and his ruling party -- which backed the constitution.

"The constitution that was approved by the people is ... based on citizenship, everyone is equal with no discrimination, a constitution that elevates the human dignity of everyone who lives on the Egyptian lands," Morsy said. "For those who said no, and for those who said yes, I say thank you, because we do not want to go back to the 'one opinion' era, or the fake and manufactured majority."

The rocky road to the referendum began when judges threatened to shut the assembly tasked with drafting the constitution. Morsy issued an edict in late November declaring his decisions immune from judicial review until the holding of the constitutional referendum.

He also sacked the head of the judiciary, many of whose members had remained loyal to Mubarak.

The Islamist president's opposition saw the moves as a grab for dictatorial powers and poured into the streets, converting Tahrir Square in central Cairo back into the center of public discontent it had been during the uprising that brought down Mubarak.

In response, Morsy dropped his decree, but the situation remained tense. Violence raged, producing incidents that have raised the ire of international human rights groups, though these were not systematic, as was the case under the former government.

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Morsy supporters accused of beatings

Videos posted online showed men with bloodied and bruised facesOne of those arrested was former diplomat Yahya Najm, who said he was refused medical treatmentAccording to witnesses, women were also beaten and detained but not for the entire night

Egypt (CNN) -- At least 49 men were beaten and detained for up to 17 hours allegedly by supporters of President Mohamed Morsy during deadly clashes near the presidential palace in Cairo on December 5, human rights activists say.

Despite allegations that these were paid thugs, the local prosecutor later released the 49 for lack of incriminating evidence.

While the men were still being questioned, President Morsy said in a televised speech that those arrested had confessed to being paid by "political powers" to instigate violence.

"The basic message that I wanted to hear from the president... is that torture, abuse, illegal detention is never justified," said Heba Morayef, research and Egypt director at Human Rights Watch. The organization said in a statement that the president spoke against the victims instead of condemning their unlawful detention.

Videos posted online showed men with bloodied and bruised faces held outside the gate of the presidential palace and told to confess to being paid.

Supporters of President Morsy that night said they were fighting paid thugs, citing "confessions" they had heard as evidence.

Gehad El-Haddad, senior advisor to the Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party, described the president's supporters as the "defending group" who first handed "attacking thugs" they caught to the police. Stressing that the same scenario used to happen in Tahrir Square, he explained that police instantly released those arrested, leading the pro-Morsy group to hold them overnight until they could be handed over to the prosecutor.

"When any of the attacking armed thugs was arrested or was caught by the supporters, he was beaten until someone would intervene and stop that beating. And later they would be put back in the ambulance to receive treatment and then were tied and put on the street," El-Haddad said.

One of those arrested was former diplomat Yahya Najm, who said he was beaten and refused medical treatment. His hands were tied and he was held outside the presidential gate until the next day. He appeared in several video reports during this detention and later at the prosecution office with a bloodied and bruised face. Ten days after his release, he was still sporting two black eyes.

"They were putting their shoes on my face, kicking me. They were standing on my face and chest," he said. "I was bleeding everywhere without any medical care all night."

Others at the same detention area, which was cordoned by police and men who identified themselves as Muslim Brotherhood members, had cut wounds resulting from stabbing, according to several eyewitnesses. They said one of those detained was a teenage boy.

Women were also beaten and detained but not for the entire night, according to eyewitnesses.

Ola Shahba, a member of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, said she was sexually harassed and beaten so she would confess to being paid. "They used to ask naïve questions as to which embassy I was working with," she said, speaking through a bruised face. Her captors, she added, told her their names "because they know there's no accountability."

Her fellow party member Ramy Sabry, who also claims to have been caught and held throughout the night with Najm, said the intensity of the beating increased when it became known that he was a Christian. His head and fingers are still bandaged.

Sabry said he filed reports against his captors, who he identified by name, and several Muslim Brotherhood leaders. He said that while still waiting in line for questioning, he heard the president's speech citing confessions by defendants.

HRW's Morayef noted violence had been documented on both sides of the clashes, with most of the fatalities on the Morsy supporters' side. She was concerned that investigations would only focus on that.

"I'm worried we won't see a real investigation into the detention of those 49 citizens by other private citizens in the presence of the police, basically with police complicity," she explained.

Both El-Haddad and Morayef lambasted the police for their failure to stop the clashes on December 5.

El-Haddad said the current situation reveals "an extremely dysfunctional state," explaining the intervention of the president's supporters that day. "They can't fill in for a police force of course, but I think that the word I would use is a human shield. They have put themselves in between the attacking mob and the sovereignty symbol of the state."

For Morayef, this is "vigilantism."

The group of 49 detained overnight "all had bloodied faces, they had bruises, many of them black eyes. Cuts in their faces, dripping in blood," Morayef said.

"The fact that many of those engaging were members of the president's party meant that he himself had a political responsibility or political influence over one side of the demonstration."

December 14, 2012 -- Updated 1618 GMT (0018 HKT) In scenes reminiscent of the mass demonstrations that brought about the downfall of former president in 2011, thousands of protestors have turned out in Cairo.November 26, 2012 -- Updated 1639 GMT (0039 HKT) Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy's decree giving himself new powers has unified opposition groups that fear any moves toward Islamic rule, critics say.November 27, 2012 -- Updated 1711 GMT (0111 HKT) Morsy's decision to grant himself unquestioned authority was not the final phase in a Muslim Brotherhood plan to erect a holy autocracy, writes Tarek Masoud. November 28, 2012 -- Updated 0218 GMT (1018 HKT) Clashes between protesters and security forces build over Egyptian President Morsy's decrees. CNN's Reza Sayah reports. November 28, 2012 -- Updated 0153 GMT (0953 HKT) CNN's Reza Sayah goes into the heart of the evening crowd in Tahrir Square for a personal look at the anti-Morsy rally. December 18, 2012 -- Updated 2240 GMT (0640 HKT) Activists have been camping out in Tahrir Square to protest what they consider overreaching powers for the president. November 22, 2012 -- Updated 1958 GMT (0358 HKT) Morsy has won praise for his government's effort to bring about a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.November 27, 2012 -- Updated 1402 GMT (2202 HKT) iReporter Ahmed Raafat tells CNN why he is protesting against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy in Cairo. Are you in Egypt? Share your stories, videos and photos with the world on CNN iReport.Today's five most popular stories

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