Egypt extends state of emergency for additional 3 months

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi yesterday issued a decree to extend the country’s state of emergency for another three months, local media reported.

The measure, which has been in place for two years now, was published in the state’s official gazette on Tuesday.

“A nationwide state of emergency will be extended for three months effective from Thursday 25 April – 1:00 AM,” the decree read.

Under the resolution, the Egyptian military and police forces would “take the necessary measures to confront the dangers and funding of terrorism, safeguard security across the whole country, and protect public and private property and citizens.”

This is the eighth consecutive time that the Egyptian government to make such a decision. The measure was first imposed in April 2017 following two church bombings, which were claimed by Daesh and left 47 killed and 120 others wounded.

The state of emergency allows the authorities to adopt broader powers, including the imposition of curfews and restrictions on the media. It could also allow the Egyptian president to issue verbal or written instructions to spy on citizens’ communication, censor media outlets and close their printing presses.

READ: Egypt’s ‘battle of the boxes’ fed the world a distorted image of the nation