News / Egypt

Egypt adopts anti-terror law amid crackdown

Tuesday, 24 February 2015 5:59 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 24 February 2015 5:59 PM ]

Egyptian protesters shout slogans during an anti-government demonstration in the capital, Cairo. © AFP

Egypt has adopted a new anti-terrorism law amid brutal crackdown on the opposition in the North African country.

Under the law, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has given wide powers to authorities to clamp down on individuals or groups considered to pose a threat to national security.

It says authorities could ban activities and meetings and freeze funds of people identified as “terrorists.”

The law, adopted on Tuesday, also regards as a terrorist entity any organization “or gathering that sows terror among individuals or endangers their lives, freedoms and rights, or undermines national unity, peace or national security.”

Groups that hold back public or private transport or disrupt the performance of public and educational institutions will be also listed as terror groups.

The anti-terror law seems to target supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, who stage frequent demonstrations on university campuses and block off roads.

In July 2013, Morsi, the country’s first democratically-elected president, was toppled in a military coup led by the former head of the armed forces and the current president, Sisi.

The army’s crackdown on the supporters of Morsi has led to the deaths of more than 1,400 people and the arrest of 22,000 others, including some 200 people who have been sentenced to death in mass trials.

MR/HSN/SS

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