Egypt's Sisi signs controversial anti-terrorism law

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi has signed into law a controversial anti-terrorism bill, which sets the death penalty for some terrorism offences.

The new law punishes anyone found guilty of forming or leading a terrorist group with death. Financing a terrorist group will carry a life sentence.

The law also slaps those found guilty of inciting violence or creating a website deemed to spread terrorist messages with jail terms ranging between five to seven years.

Under the law, trials for suspected militants will be fast-tracked through special courts and anyone found guilty of joining a militant group could face 10 years in prison.

Journalists who publish news that contradicts with the official version of events will pay a hefty fine between 200,000 and 500,000 Egyptian pounds ($25,000 and $64,000) under the new law.

The original draft of the law called for jail terms for journalists, but the bill was amended after an outcry from the main journalist body in the Arab country.

Rights groups have denounced the anti-terror bill, saying it imposes an “undeclared state of emergency” in the country.

Sisi, a former army chief, vowed to introduce tougher anti-terrorism law last month following the assassination of Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat in a car bombing in Cairo.

Egypt has remained in the throes of turmoil since the military overthrew elected President Mohamed Morsi in a 2013 coup following protests against his administration.