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The proposal does not refer to any mechanism to monitor places of detention, thus opening the doors to unlimited breaches by the Ministry of the Interior, which does not even concern itself with protecting human rights in known detention centres and prisons, let alone secret locations.
Mr Ahmad Mofreh, legal researcher at Alkarama, said that "The danger in the proposed legislation lies in its attempt to make the Ministry of the Interior both an adversary and a judge, as it decides who is, and is not, a security threat. This gives the Ministry wide powers which will lead to wide-scale abuses, especially as the law completely ignores the role of the public prosecution as an independent actor".
Mr Mofreh pointed out the danger in article 2 of the proposed legislation which considers that "disrupting public and private transportation is a crime" which represents a new threat to those who protest and demand their rights through sit-ins, demonstrations or strikes.
The wording of the legislation is also ill-defined and can be interpreted by the authorities in various ways. Phrases such as "endangering security or disrupting peace and places of work" are general accusations that do not require specific ,material evidence. The last article which talks about "attacking the right to work" can also be used against strikes and sit-ins, thus threatening freedom of thought and expression. The proposed legislation may turn protesters into criminals.
Alkarama also points out that the article which states "the 30 days should not be subtracted from the sentence" is a hidden detention. The high administrative court and the appeal court have previously ruled that it was necessary to deduct time that was already served from sentences. Also, the upholding of sentences, possible according to this law, even when they are appealed, is an attack on the citizen's right of appeal, which shows the extent to which this law applies emergency measures that breach the most fundamental legal principles.
The al-Nadeem Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture referred in its 10 October report to the killing of 34 people by police, and its monitoring of 88 torture cases, 7 rape cases, at least 12 cases of firing at citizens, 65 cases of arbitrary detention, and 10 cases of breaking a sit-in by force. This raises the question that if the Interior Ministry is already responsible for this many breaches in 100 days, is a new emergency law really necessary?
Alkarama underlines that these emergency laws which limit freedom, even if they claim to be "protecting the gains of the revolution", are against the spirit and the demands of the revolution which the Egyptian people undertook to win back their freedom and dignity.