A misunderstanding of the situation in Egypt

Your correspondent Michael Moriarty (‘The threat from fundamentalists’, Irish Examiner, Aug 20) is basically arguing against doing anything to assist the four Irish citizens detained in Cairo. In doing so, he makes at least three unwarranted assumptions.

The first is that, having lived in Egypt in 1975-80, he understands the present situation regarding demonstrations. Things were very different then and demonstrations were much rarer. The current situation follows a revolution and a military coup — the society is in turmoil.

The second is that anyone taking part in demonstrations forfeits their democratic and human rights. The right to demonstrate and protest is a basic democratic right and there is no evidence that these Irish citizens did other than exercise this right.