By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Impunity Watch

CAIRO, Egypt-A new restrictive “protest law” requiring Egyptians to seek approval days in advance before organizing demonstrations has been signed by Egypt’s interim president, Adly Mansour.

Police monitor protesters in Cairo (photo courtesy of Voice of America)

Rights groups tried to encourage Mansour to reject the law with a joint statement from 19 Egyptian organizations. The statement read, “The draft law seeks to criminalize all forms of peaceful assembly, including demonstrations and public meetings, and gives the state free hand to disperse peaceful gatherings by use of force.”

The law has undergone numerous revisions, but may rights groups are claiming that the latest version requires protesters to obtain approval from police three days in advance of holding a protest.  The interior ministry is also allowed to block rallies that could “pose a serious threat to security or peace.”

The widespread latitude to use force that the police will have could give the government a pretext for a widespread crackdown.  The law will take effect later this week upon the final text being published in the official state register.

The law distinguishes between types of protests requiring that election campaign event have a 24-hour notification period and processions of more than ten people are only allowed for “non-political purposes.  Violators could face fines of up to $4,360.

“They could have stuck to earlier versions, where if the interior ministry wants to ban a protest, the onus is on them to go to court and seek a ban.  Instead they’ve done the opposite.  The end result is that we could see an increase in violent crackdowns on peaceful protests,” said Heba Morayef, the Egypt director for Human Rights Watch.

Other restrictive laws are being brought to the table for discussion and debate.  One such law would criminalize “abusive graffiti” while another less descriptively worded would deal with “anti-terrorist” to further clamp down on peaceful political activism.

The cabinet claims that these restrictive laws are needed to help regulate near-daily protests in Cairo and across the country, especially those protests with the potential to turn violent.

Last week, authorities removed a three-month state of emergency and night-time curfew imposed following a clearing of two Cairo sit-ins which were filled with supporters of overthrown president Mohamed Morsi.  The following two days resulted in the death of more than a thousand people.

For more information, please see the following: 

Al Jazeera-Egypt passes law restricting public protests-24 November 2013

Deutsche Welle-Egypt passes new laws restricting protests-24 November 2013

Reuters-Egypt’s interim president signs law restricting protests-24 November 2013

Voice of America-Egypt’s Interim President Signs Law Restricting Protests-24 November 2013

 

Author: Impunity Watch Archive