US warns about Egypt’s new anti-terror law human rights impact

Leading or organising a terrorist group will entail death penalty.

Authorities claim the bill, signed into law late Sunday by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, will help crush a mounting Islamist insurgency spearheaded by an Islamic State group affiliate which has battered the country over the past two years. “The government has equipped itself with even greater powers to continue stamping out its critics and opponents under its vague and ever-expanding war on terrorism”. Those attacks became more frequent after Sissi led the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

The crackdown against the Brotherhood included violent responses to the protests that followed Morsi being pushed from office, leaving more than 1,000 people dead.

The U.S.is concerned that some measures in Egypt’s new anti-terrorism law might hurt fundamental freedoms and human rights, a U.S. State Department spokesman said in a briefing Tuesday.

But Kirby reaffirmed that Washington stands with Egypt in its fight against terror.

He reiterated Secretary of State John Kerry’s comments from earlier this month stressing the need for those who disagree with the government to be able to “express those views peacefully and through participation in the political process”.

Critical reporting in Egypt is already under threat as journalists face intense pressure to align their reporting with the government or face indiscriminate accusations of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been declared a terrorist group. The original draft of the law called for jailing journalists, but that portion was scrapped after an outcry from critics. The new laws have been at the centre of debate in the country as different segments of the society have raised concerns that the law would give sweeping powers to the law enforcement authorities which can be misused to subdue even any voices of dissent towards the Government.

“This will not only infringe on journalists’ rights to unbiased and accurate information but will effectively land them in jail for failing to pay a fine far beyond the means of most journalists and news organisations”, Karem Mahmoud, head of the legislative committee of Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate, told Ahram Online.

Canadian national Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian Baher Mohamed and Australian Peter Greste were all sentenced to prison, but an appeals judge ordered a new trial after ruling there was not sufficient evidence to support the charges.