SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Journalists, Dissenters Targets of Egypt's Draconian 'Anti-Terror' Law
President Abdel Fattah al Sisi, who already rules by decree, further tightens grip on power with sweeping new legislation
Aug 17, 2015
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday officially signed into law sweeping new "anti-terrorism" legislation that dramatically expands his powers to impose the death penalty, crackdown on dissent, and stamp out journalism that the government deems to be "false."
The law was passed over widespread opposition, including protests from the Egyptian Press Syndicate, whose members say the legislation threatens what's left of free media in the country. Al Sisi, who already rules by decree amid a suspended parliament, fast-tracked the rule following the late-June killing of state prosecutor Hisham Barakat in a car bombing and a subsequent wave of violence in the North Sinai Peninsula.
The legislation allows authorities to impose the death penalty for anyone the government deems to be leading a "terrorist" group and increases the power of officials to arrest and interrogate suspects. It also buffers Egyptian authorities, including soldiers and police officers, from legal consequences for using force.
One article gives the president the authority, pending approval from the non-active parliament, to impose curfews and isolation on areas of the country for up to six months.
The law also bans journalists from providing information about militant attacks that diverge from the government account, under penalty of steep fines. In addition, while not mentioning journalism, the rule allows the courts to "prevent the convicted from practicing the profession for no more than one year if the crime violates the profession's principles."
At least 18 journalists are already incarcerated in Egypt on charges that include "broadcasting false information," according to Amnesty International.
The rule follows another law passed in February that grants the government broad powers to break up protests. It comes amid an escalating crisis of government killings, torture, and jailing of its critics. Friday was the second anniversary of a massacre in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in which Egyptian security forces killed up to 1,000 sit-in protesters. Al Sisi was in charge of the army at the time, and no one has been held accountable for the mass killing.
"One of the key reasons the Egyptian people took to the streets in 2011 was to abolish the 30-year-long state of emergency imposed by Hosni Mubarak," declared Said Boumedouha, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International, in a statement released ahead of the legislation's passage. "Granting the current President similar absolute powers is a deadly blow to human rights in Egypt."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently pledged that Egypt's human rights abuses will not get in the way of increased aid, arms, and military "cooperation."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
abdel fattah el-sisideath penaltydissentegypthuman rightsjohn kerryjournalismjournalistsmediaparliamentproteststorture
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday officially signed into law sweeping new "anti-terrorism" legislation that dramatically expands his powers to impose the death penalty, crackdown on dissent, and stamp out journalism that the government deems to be "false."
The law was passed over widespread opposition, including protests from the Egyptian Press Syndicate, whose members say the legislation threatens what's left of free media in the country. Al Sisi, who already rules by decree amid a suspended parliament, fast-tracked the rule following the late-June killing of state prosecutor Hisham Barakat in a car bombing and a subsequent wave of violence in the North Sinai Peninsula.
The legislation allows authorities to impose the death penalty for anyone the government deems to be leading a "terrorist" group and increases the power of officials to arrest and interrogate suspects. It also buffers Egyptian authorities, including soldiers and police officers, from legal consequences for using force.
One article gives the president the authority, pending approval from the non-active parliament, to impose curfews and isolation on areas of the country for up to six months.
The law also bans journalists from providing information about militant attacks that diverge from the government account, under penalty of steep fines. In addition, while not mentioning journalism, the rule allows the courts to "prevent the convicted from practicing the profession for no more than one year if the crime violates the profession's principles."
At least 18 journalists are already incarcerated in Egypt on charges that include "broadcasting false information," according to Amnesty International.
The rule follows another law passed in February that grants the government broad powers to break up protests. It comes amid an escalating crisis of government killings, torture, and jailing of its critics. Friday was the second anniversary of a massacre in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in which Egyptian security forces killed up to 1,000 sit-in protesters. Al Sisi was in charge of the army at the time, and no one has been held accountable for the mass killing.
"One of the key reasons the Egyptian people took to the streets in 2011 was to abolish the 30-year-long state of emergency imposed by Hosni Mubarak," declared Said Boumedouha, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International, in a statement released ahead of the legislation's passage. "Granting the current President similar absolute powers is a deadly blow to human rights in Egypt."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently pledged that Egypt's human rights abuses will not get in the way of increased aid, arms, and military "cooperation."
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday officially signed into law sweeping new "anti-terrorism" legislation that dramatically expands his powers to impose the death penalty, crackdown on dissent, and stamp out journalism that the government deems to be "false."
The law was passed over widespread opposition, including protests from the Egyptian Press Syndicate, whose members say the legislation threatens what's left of free media in the country. Al Sisi, who already rules by decree amid a suspended parliament, fast-tracked the rule following the late-June killing of state prosecutor Hisham Barakat in a car bombing and a subsequent wave of violence in the North Sinai Peninsula.
The legislation allows authorities to impose the death penalty for anyone the government deems to be leading a "terrorist" group and increases the power of officials to arrest and interrogate suspects. It also buffers Egyptian authorities, including soldiers and police officers, from legal consequences for using force.
One article gives the president the authority, pending approval from the non-active parliament, to impose curfews and isolation on areas of the country for up to six months.
The law also bans journalists from providing information about militant attacks that diverge from the government account, under penalty of steep fines. In addition, while not mentioning journalism, the rule allows the courts to "prevent the convicted from practicing the profession for no more than one year if the crime violates the profession's principles."
At least 18 journalists are already incarcerated in Egypt on charges that include "broadcasting false information," according to Amnesty International.
The rule follows another law passed in February that grants the government broad powers to break up protests. It comes amid an escalating crisis of government killings, torture, and jailing of its critics. Friday was the second anniversary of a massacre in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in which Egyptian security forces killed up to 1,000 sit-in protesters. Al Sisi was in charge of the army at the time, and no one has been held accountable for the mass killing.
"One of the key reasons the Egyptian people took to the streets in 2011 was to abolish the 30-year-long state of emergency imposed by Hosni Mubarak," declared Said Boumedouha, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International, in a statement released ahead of the legislation's passage. "Granting the current President similar absolute powers is a deadly blow to human rights in Egypt."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently pledged that Egypt's human rights abuses will not get in the way of increased aid, arms, and military "cooperation."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.