Mixed reactions grip Egypt's emergency law

The introduction of the state of emergency in Egypt after two church bombings that killed at least 45 people drew mixed reactions from residents of the country ruled by emergency laws for four decades.

A three-month countrywide state of emergency was declared by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday, to broaden the power of authorities and to crack down on what it called enemies of the state.

Former Police General, Mohamed Nour El-Din said the people and the government would never accept that you arrest a TV anchor or a media personality for being too critical.

“When you hold [the suspect] for 24 hours, you will not be able to find evidence and the prosecution will let the suspect go. But when you have a month you will be able to gather evidence, his accomplices and the weapons,”

“If I want to avoid being Syria or Iraq, I should solidify the rule of law, fight corruption and turn the battle with terrorism into a sociological one, not between security and terrorism,” said Human Rights lawyer, Gamal Eid.

The emergency law was unanimously approved by the Egyptian parliament on Tuesday.

The amendment to the Emergency Law will be sent to the State Council for an advisory legal review, after which it will be sent back to Parliament for a final vote and then presidential ratification and publication in the Egyptian Gazette.

Important piece explaining context and motivations behind #Egypt's new emergency law, by the kickass Nathan Brown https://t.co/mlDB711CRx pic.twitter.com/OJRNKlWT84

— Jack Shenker (@hackneylad) April 13, 2017

The new provisions replace an article of 1958 Emergency Law, which was declared unconstitutional in a June 2013 Supreme Constitutional Court ruling and had previously granted similar powers to the interior minister.