Not maintaining security and not preventing terrorism. Why does Al-Sisi continue to impose an emergency in Egypt?

Since April 9, 2017, Egyptian regime president “Abdel Fattahِِ Al-Sisi” has renewed for the 13th time, state of emergency across the country for three months, at a time.

The last renovation came on April 25, 2021, because the Constitution limited the periods of emergency periods only twice to 6 months, Al-Sisi” issues a Republican decision every six months to extend the emergency.

As the late President “Mohamed Morsi” came to power in June 2012, pledging to abolish the state of emergency after 30 years of operation, the military council announced its final suspension on May 31, 2012.

The 2012 Constitution of the Revolution restricted the imposition of a state of emergency for only three months, its extension was limited to a similar period, and may not be extended for a third period.

Expanding Powers

This restriction on the duration of the emergency continued in Article 154 of the amended constitution in January 2014, which was restricted by Al-Sisi. He later recalled the emergency law on October 25, 2014, to be applied to north Sinai province, and renewed in these areas so far, in order to counter terrorist operations.

But  Al-Sisi re-imposed a state of emergency on the whole of Egypt On April 9, 2017, taking advantage of the bombing of the Marjerjis Church in Tanta and Marjorie in Alexandria, and circumvent the Constitution, to keep it permanent by issuing a Republican decision every time, in order to renew it for 3 months and extend it for another 3 months.

Al-Sisi's insistence on renewing or extending the state of emergency every 6 months (by a new Republican decision), it aims to give the army and police greater powers to impose repressive measures, according to local estimates.

Not only did Al-Sisi’s regime re-impose the emergency, but it took advantage of the Corona pandemic to amend the law, expanding its powers and adding further restrictions to Egyptians.

On April 22, 2020, the House of Representatives passed amendments to the emergency law, which expanded Al-Sisi's powers and gave him broader powers, under the pretext of allowing him to take measures to combat the spread of the CORONAVIRUS.

On May 7, 2021, Al-Sisi issued these amendments to Law 22 of 2020, the amendments allowed Al-Sisi to restrict public meetings, processions, demonstrations and celebrations, and other forms of gatherings, and even restricting private meetings.

It allowed him to restrict the trading, transport, sale, acquisition or export of certain goods and products, determining the method of collecting financial and in-kind donations and the rules for allocating and spending such donations.

It also allowed him to take control of private medical Centre’s, and the conversion of schools, educational centers and other public facilities to field hospitals, and reduce the trade of some products.

Under the amendments, the military prosecutor was authorized to assist the Public Prosecutor's Office in investigating crimes reported by the armed forces, which means expanding the jurisdiction of military courts, to include the trial of civilians, considering the army responsible for law enforcement during the emergency period.

In a May 7, 2020 statement, Human Rights Watch described the amendments as “a pretext for establishing new repressive powers”.

The Executive Director of the organization, "Kenneth Roth": Al-Sisi’s government is using the Corona pandemic to expand, not reform, Egypt's abusive emergency law, the Egyptian authorities must deal with public health concerns, without adding new tools of repression, Al-Sisi himself has shown that he is fully prepared to use them.

"Some of the actions required at the stage of the health crisis should not be exploitable, resorting to the speech of policing and public order as an excuse reflects the security mentality that governs Egypt under (Al-Sisi)”, he said.

"Emergency" Terrorism

The current emergency law was passed in 1958, it was only two years during the reigns of Presidents “Anwar Sadat” and “Mohamed Morsi”, Egypt has been in a state of emergency for nearly 60 years.

Following his military coup and a desire to suppress protests by force, Al-Sisi imposed a state of emergency through president-designate “Adly Mansour” following the dispersal of a fourth sit-in on August 14, 2013.

The emergency did not prevent its stated primary purpose, which is to maintain security and prevent terrorism, under which former President “Anwar Sadat” was killed, the former Speaker of parliament, “Rifaat Al-Mahjoub”, was killed, the January 25 revolution, Sinai has become a battlefield.

The "Terrorism Act" also did not prevent two bombings in two churches that resulted in some 45 deaths and dozens of injuries, when Al-Sisi imposed an emergency on April 9, 2017, bombings and terrorism continued.

235 worshippers were killed at Al-Rawda Mosque in Seine on November 24, 2017, under the Emergency Law, attacks continued in Sinai Province (the Egyptian branch of ISIS), which confirms that it is just a tool to justify repression.

In a report on May 10, 2020, ANHRI confirmed that terrorism has not receded, despite the emergency law and anti-terrorism laws, human rights have declined.

She also stressed that Al-Sisi did not achieve security, it aims for further repression of freedom of opinion, expression and belief, repression of human rights defenders.

Al-Sisi's insistence on the survival of emergency rule, despite dozens of laws restricting freedoms and human rights, with counter-terrorism claims, due to speeding up the sentences without a judicial challenge.

Under which state security courts rule emergency, with sentences that do not accept appeal on 18 charges against Egyptian dissidents, under the emergency, the Public Prosecutor's Office refers to state security courts emergency formed by Law 162 of 1958 for political or security crimes, its provisions are subject to the military ruler for direct ratification without appeal.

The rulings of the State Security Court are also an emergency that does not accept appeal, which means speeding up the sentences, its provisions are referred to the military ruler (Al-Sisi or his delegate) for ratification, it becomes final and cannot be challenged, but only before the military ruler.

Emergency in this gives the security authorities broader powers in arrests, searches and bans on deployment, it entails further enforced disappearance of detainees, prolonging the period of pretrial detention, the imposition of the emergency law also means monitoring and confiscating messages and means of expression, seizing any property and guarding companies, restrictions on the freedom of persons have been put in place.

The cases referred by the Public Prosecutor's Office to state security courts are related to the laws of “gathering”, “sanctions”, “supply”, “forced pricing”, and “weapons and ammunition”, “Inviolability of places of worship”, “demonstration”, “criminalization of attacks on freedom of action”, “destruction of facilities” and “combating terrorism”.

  

18 Offences

Under the Emergency Law, there are 15 crimes, the perpetrator of which is being tried before state security courts; under the Prime Minister's April 2020 decision, three more crimes were added to 18.

By law, disruption of transportation by demonstrations or strikes can be a crime, intimidation, intimidation and bullying are crimes, as well as crimes relating to supply matters for forced pricing and profit determination.

And also attacking the freedom of work and vandalizing facilities, and the crimes under the Anti-Terrorism Act, it includes the promotion of extremist ideas with the intention of sedition.

Possession of explosives, destruction of State institutions, incitement to overthrow the regime, destruction of public peace and crimes of demonstration, incitement not to comply with the laws, and to insult the President of the Republic, espionage, intelligence, and leaking documents.

Also: Any Egyptian joining any army of another country in the event of war with Egypt, and a person tasked with negotiating with a foreign government on state affairs, deliberately conducts it against its own interests.

Whoever gathers without the permission of the government or carries out another hostile act against a foreign state, that would put the Egyptian state at risk of war, those who flew over Egyptian territory without the permission of the competent authorities.

Whoever takes photographs, drawings or maps of places or places contrary to the prohibition issued by the competent authority, those who entered a fort, a defense facility, a camp or a place where armed forces or a warship had settled.

Who has resided or found in places and places where the military authorities have banned residence or presence, possession of automatic weapons and ammunition?

The three additional crimes approved by the government in April 2020 are: “Crimes relating to the construction, expansion, modification, restoration or demolition of buildings without the permission of the competent administrative authority”.

Crimes relating to the establishment of works without due process of legally established technical assets, in designing, implementing, supervising or pursuing construction work, or the execution does not match the graphics, data or documents on which the license was granted.

fraud in the use of building materials or the use of non-compliant materials, the decision provided for in articles 102 and 04 of the Building Code of Law No. 119 of 2008.

 

History of State of Emergency 

The imposition of emergencies dates back to the period of royal rule after the outbreak of World War II in 1939, under the late President “Gamal Abdel Nasser” on September 27, 1958, emergency law No. 162 was enacted in 1958.

Sadat used the emergency law to arrest a number of opponents, partisans, journalists and writers, he controlled the bread demonstrations of January 17 and 18, 1977, in protest against IMF instructions, but declared the state of emergency abolished in 1980.

Following “Sadat’s” assassination on October 6, 1981, and the arrival of “Hosni Mubarak”, the emergency returned and lasted for 30 years, it was renewed under Mubarak annually until 1988, until the People's Assembly announced its renewal every three years.

On May 12, 2010, the People's Assembly decided to renew it for only two years, this effectively ended in May 2012, but by a decision of the Military Council in response to the January revolution.

On August 14, 2013, interim President “Adly Mansour” reintroduced the emergency law following the dispersal of the “Rabaa al-Adawiya” and “Ennahda” sit-ins.

On April 9, 2017, Al-Sisi restored a state of emergency in Egypt, after the bombing of two churches, it has been in force for four years now.

The latest renewal of the state of emergency was made by Republican decision 174 of 2021 on April 25, 2021 for a three-month period, ending in June 2021.

Al-Sisi's circumvention of the constitution to reimpose the emergency has been 13 times since it was first imposed on the entire of Egypt on June 22, 2017.

The second time was on October 12, 2017, with Republican decision 510 of 2017 declaring a state of emergency across the country for three months.

The third time was in January 2018, with decision 674 for 2017 and the fourth on April 13, 2018.

June 24, 2018, the fifth republican decision 168 of 2018.

The sixth, October 14, 2018, decision 473, was approved by the House of Representatives on October 21, 2018.

January 13, 2019, Al-Sisi issued decision 17 of 2019, extending the state of emergency for the seventh time.

April 8, 2019 was Republican decision 208 of 2019, for another three months.

9, July 21, 2019, by Republican decision 317 of 2019, and 10th on October 26, 2019 by decision 555 of 2019.

January 19, 2020 was the 11th time Al-Sisi has renewed a three-month state of emergency.

On April 25, 2021, Al-Sisi issued decision 174 of 2021 declaring a state of emergency for the 12th time to renew it.

If Al-Sisi’s emergency state is first added in Sinai on October 25, 2014, the emergency has been imposed 13 times so far under Al-Sisi.