Amnesty International (AI) has slammed the Egyptian government’s recent draft law on anti-terrorism as “deeply flawed,” saying such a law is in violation of the right to “free expression.”
On Friday, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui warned against the adoption of the “deeply flawed” anti-terrorism draft law which would ban events related to the country’s Muslim Brotherhood movement.
“This draft legislation…violates the right to free expression, undermines safeguards against torture and arbitrary detention, and expands the scope of application of the death penalty,” said the Amnesty official.
On April 10, Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab signed the anti-terror law which bans any reference or participation in events related to the government of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.
It also threatens capital punishment and life imprisonment against those who break the law. The new measures have yet to be signed into law by Egypt’s interim President Adly Mansour.
Sahraoui further called on the Egyptian government to “change course and adopt an approach that respects human rights and the rule of law.”
“The draconian nature of this legislation, which flouts Egypt’s obligations, suggests that it will pave the way to further clamp down on civil society and government opponents and critics rather than tackling the threat of terrorism,” he added.
However, the Egypt’s military-backed government has rejected Amnesty’s criticism as interference in the North African country’s domestic affairs.
The military-installed rulers in Egypt have launched a heavy-handed crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood supporters after the army ousted the country’s first democratically-elected president on July 3, 2013.
Since Morsi’s removal, thousands of the Muslim Brotherhood members as well as the group’s supporters have been arrested and accused of inciting unrest in the country.
Amnesty International had earlier criticized Egyptian authorities for using an “unprecedented scale” of violence against anti-government protesters.
MKA/NN/AS
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