The government is determined to replace the state of emergency with a protest law which human rights groups say is so draconian it criminalises expressions of dissent. The controversial law is now being reviewed by the Ministry of Justice. It will then be referred to interim President Adli Mansour for endorsement. It has already been approved by the State Council's Fatwa (Religious Endowment) and Legislation Department. On 10 October the cabinet rubber-stamped the law drafted by the Ministry of Justice and referred it to Mansour. Faced with a storm of criticism from political parties and human rights groups the government then backtracked. On 20 October Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawi told private satellite channel CBC that the government was not opposed to introducing amendments to the law. He noted that the National Council for Human Rights had received a copy in order to give an opinion on any necessary changes. During the interview Al-Beblawi stressed, however, that the right to assembly must not “disturb the authorities” or threaten security. He added that the “police today enjoy greater popular respect than at any time before.” The draft law is an updated version of legislation discussed by the Shura Council for four months under president Mohamed Morsi. The end of the state of emergency on 14 November was supposed to be a milestone on the transitional roadmap. Now, says legal activist Gamal Eid, “the government is determined to drag the country back to the Mubarak regime era of custom-made laws.” Popular Current spokesman Hossam Mones says the vast majority of political forces opposed the new law because it “seeks to end the right to peaceful protests and sit-ins not to regulate them”. “In practice this law will set the impunity of police officers in stone and allow the Ministry of Interior to trump the will of the people. It is incredible that anyone who wants to protest against the government must first seek permission from one of that government's ministries.” The law proposed by the government bans any demonstration from being held near an official building and allows police officers to forcibly disperse peaceful protesters should a single incident of stone throwing occur. Police permission will be required to hold any public meeting of more than 10 people. The State Council recommended some changes to the law which human rights groups slammed as cosmetic. It excluded election rallies from public meetings that must first secure police permission and said the ban on the wearing of masks by protesters did not include the niqab. The latter change, said the State Council, was needed “in order to protect freedom of expression” . State Council proposed amendments also give protesters the right to appeal any decision of the Ministry of Interior banning demonstrations. The appeal must be made before the prosecutor who has jurisdiction in the area where the protest was scheduled to be held and the prosecutor is required to issue a judgment within 24 hours. Ahmed Shaaban, coordinator of the National Association for Change, complains the government only consulted the quasi-official National Council of Human Rights over the new legislation. The best option, he argues, would be to delay issuing the law until it can be referred to parliament. One of the most worrying aspects of the draft law, says Bahieddin Hassan, director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, is Article 2 which addresses the right of the police to disperse assemblies. “A thorough reading of the article shows that it can be used to prevent political groups from holding meetings, news conferences or seminars on their premises unless they first secure police permission.” Article 7 excludes sit-ins from any protection while Article 16 bans protests from taking place within a 300-meter radius of any government police or military building, court, hospital, airport, educational institution, public facility, embassy, museum or locations designated by local governors. Yet another article allows the police to use force in “legitimate self-defence and in protecting public properties”. This, says Hassan, allows security forces to use lethal force in defence of these ill-defined and yet to be designated “properties”. The clause contradicts international standards on the use of force which limit the use of firearms to an imminent threat to life or of grave injury or to protect the lives of others. The new law specifies penalties. It prescribes up to five years imprisonment and a fine of LE100,000 if demonstrators stage a sit-in at the demonstration site, breach public order or obstruct traffic. Public order is so vaguely defined it could easily become a hold all charge. “Demonstrations and strikes in Egyptian squares have for several years had political, social and economic roots. They require political, social and economic solutions, not security restrictions and yet more repressive legislations,” says Hassan.
