Egypt is preparing to pass a controversial anti-terror law that critics say will result in police impunity, media censorship and the limiting of civil freedoms.
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is expected to approve the law this week after promising tough measures against militants who threaten the country’s stability following the assassination of the republic’s public prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, last week.
Barakat was assassinated in Cairo last week in a car bombing followed by large-scale attacks on soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula.
Gamal Eid, the executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said that “it is disastrous to see the state pass such a law during these stressful times amid calls for revenge.”
Article 33 of the cabinet-approved draft law stipulates a minimum two-year prison sentence for anyone, including journalists, who report casualty tolls from militant attacks that differ from government-approved figures.
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