On 7 May, prize-winning blogger Alaa Ahmed Seif al-Islam was among those arrested after after protesting against 30 April´s announcement that the country´s emergency law will be extended a further two years. Eleven reform activists were arrested for exercising their right to freedom of assembly, bringing the number of people arrested over the last two weeks for protesting to 100.
Police later released three of the 11 new detainees, but authorities extended the detention period of the remaing eight a further 15 days. by Alexis Karlin & Natasha Schmidt, Index on Censorship
Silencing of all peaceful opposition?
“These new arrests indicate that President Mubarak intends to silence all peaceful opposition”, said Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch´s Middle East and North Africa division. According the Human Rights Watch, those arrested between 24 April and 7 May face charges of “insulting the president”, “spreading false rumours”, and “disturbing public order”.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif cited continued threats of terrorism within Egypt as a major factor in the decision to push through the law on 30 April. He added that the law would be replaced with a law that deals specifically with terrorism, and that it was designed to protect its citizens.Plans to renew the law had been hinted at several weeks before the announcement and so cannot be said to be a response to the triple bombings in Dahab on 25 April that killed 23 people.
The emergency law must be renewed every three years. Human rights groups estimate that there are now approximately 15,000 prisoners who have not been charged in Egypt´s jails.
Continuous state of emergency
The law has been in effect since President Hosni Mubarak came to power in October 1981, but the country has been almost continuously under state of emergency laws since 1967. Initially the law was imposed during the Arab-Israeli war, and lifted following the Camp David accords of 1980. But the law was reintroduced a year later following the murder of President Anwar al-Sadat.
The law gives the government the power to impose restrictions on freedom of assembly, and the power to arrest and detain suspects deemed to be subversive to the government. It expressly allows the authorities to hold individuals for up to six months without charging or trying them. Some have been held for years under continuously renewed administrative detention orders, without charge, trial or legal recourse. Torture by State Security Intelligence (SSI) forces during detention is widespread.
Thousands of dissidents, particularly members of Islamist organisations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, have been detained without charge under the emergency law in recent years. Half of those recently arrested are members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who were arrested while distributing leaflets and putting up posters protesting against the law.
The law gives the authorities extensive powers to suspend basic liberties including:
–arresting suspects at will and detaining them without trial for prolonged periods;
–referring civilians to military or exceptional state security courts whose procedures fall far short of international standards for fair trial;
–prohibiting strikes, demonstrations and public meetings;
–censoring or closing down newspapers in the name of national security.
All of this contradicts Egypt´s supposed commitment to human rights, which it has strived to demonstrate by signing international and regional agreements, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
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