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HRW: Egypt Uses Counterterrorism Laws to Prosecute Critics

by VOA News

   A human rights watchdog says Egyptian authorities "are increasingly
   using counterterrorism and state-of-emergency laws and courts to
   unjustly prosecute journalists, activists, and critics for their
   peaceful criticism."

   [1]Human Rights Watch said Sunday the abusive practices and distortion
   of counterterrorism measures happened while Egypt was chairing "one of
   the key United Nations committees to ensure compliance with
   counterterrorism resolutions and while the U.N.'s most senior
   counterterrorism official was visiting the country."

   Nadim Houry, HRW's terrorism/counterterrorism director, said "While
   Egypt faces security threats, the government of President Abdel Fattah
   el-Sissi has exploited these threats cynically as a cover to prosecute
   peaceful critics and to revive the infamous Mubarak-era state security
   courts."

   The watchdog says before the presidential election in March the
   Egyptian police and National Security Agency forces carried out a "wave
   of arrests of critics" of the president. After the election the arrests
   continued with the detention of prominent activists and journalists
   under Egypt's 2015 counterterrorism law. HRW says the law "criminalizes
   a wide range of acts, including publishing or promoting news about
   terrorism, if it contradicts official statements."

   Some cases, according to the human rights group, have been transferred
   to the Emergency State Security Courts that the government claims are
   being used only against terrorists and drug traffickers. These courts,
   however, do not guarantee a fair trial and their decisions are not
   subject to appeal, HRW reports.

References

   1. https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/07/15/egypt-intensifying-crackdown-under-counterterrorism-guise