Egypt's state of emergency, that gave security forces sweeping¹ powers to detain suspects and try them in special courts, has ended after 31 years.

埃及的紧急状态——给予安保部队拘留嫌疑犯并在特殊法庭审讯他们的权力——历经31年后解除。

It has been in place without interruption since the assassination² of President Anwar Sadat in 1981.

Lifting the law was a key demand of activists⁴ in last year's uprising against President Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt's military rulers, who took charge after the ousting⁵ of Mr Mubarak, indicated they would not renew the law.

Some Egyptians had feared the country - preparing for a presidential election run-off- would be left in a power vacuum（真空，空间） without the law, which expired at midnight on Thursday.

The Supreme⁶ Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) issued a statement to reassure⁷ the country that it will "continue to carry its national responsibility in protecting the country until the transfer of power is over".

"This is huge," said Hossam Bahgat, a human rights activist³ who had long campaigned to lift the law.

"What is really crucial is the message. The security forces operated under a culture that told them they were constantly above the law. Now they need to abide⁸ by the existing legislation and they won't enjoy any extra-legal powers."

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner described the lifting of the emergency law as "a step in the direction" towards democratic transition.

The emergency law was a key feature of the rule of President Mubarak, who repeatedly broke promises to lift it.

'Thuggery'

At one point, human rights groups estimated there were more than 10,000 people in detention⁹ - many of them disappearing in Egyptian prisons.

In January the head of Scaf, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, partially¹⁰ eased the law except in the cases of "thuggery（谋财害命，暗杀） ", without explaining exactly what that meant.

The interior ministry¹¹ is currently dealing¹² with at least 188 people under the law, according to Human Rights Watch.

However, there are some who believe the state of emergency should have been renewed.

Cairo resident Reda Abdel Fatah told Reuters: "The army should continue until the end of the transitional period, because if they leave now it will be chaos¹³."

Egypt is preparing for a run-off vote in the presidential elections which will be held on 16-17 June.

The two contenders are the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Mursi and former air force commander Ahmed Shafiq, who was President Mubarak's last prime minister.