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Egypt extends state of emergency for 9th time

July 12, 2019 at 1:19 pm

Egyptian Parliament yesterday renewed the state of emergency for an additional three months.

According to the Egyptian news agency, “the House of Representatives approved, in its plenary session on Thursday, to extend the state of emergency proclaimed by the President of the Republic throughout the country for a period of three months – starting Thursday morning 25 July.”

The emergency decree states that “the armed forces and the police force shall take the necessary measures to confront the threats of terrorism and its funding, maintain security throughout the country, protect public and private properties as well as the citizens’ lives.”

Egypt has imposed a state of emergency for over two years. On 10 April 2017, parliament approved a three-month state of emergency to “confront the threats of terrorism and its funding” following two attacks that targeted two churches in the north of the country, killing at least 45 people.

The state of emergency gives officials additional powers to curtail certain freedoms and civil rights in the interest of preserving order and stability in the greater scheme of counterterrorism efforts. Critics have said Egypt is using such measures to silence the opposition and pro-democracy groups.

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