Egypt: Covid-19 Cover for New Repressive Powers

(Beirut) – The Egyptian Parliament on April 22, 2020 swiftly approved government-proposed amendments to the 1958 Emergency Law which will give additional sweeping powers to President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi and security agencies, Human Rights Watch said today. President al-Sisi should return the amendments unsigned to Parliament, which should revise the many abusive articles in the law. The government said that the amendments concern public health emergencies such as the Covid-19 outbreak. However, only 5 of the 18 proposed amendments are clearly tied to public health developments. Making them part…

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