Egypt: Amend Draft Demonstrations Law

Bill Restricts Right to Assembly, Invites Abuse

"(New York) – The government-proposed draft law in Egypt concerning public demonstrations would severely limit the right to peaceful public assembly and is open to abuse by police, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the president and the Justice Ministry.

The letter outlines concerns with the draft law in light of Egypt’s human rights obligations and international legal standards, and urges the government to make amendments. The Justice Ministry drafted the “Law on the Protection of the Right to Peacefully Demonstrate in Public Places.”  The cabinet approved the final draft on February 12, 2013, and submitted the bill to the Shura Council, Egypt’s legislative body, on February 17.


“This law as drafted would severely restrict one of the key human rights that determine Egyptians’ ability to continue to call for bread, freedom, and social justice,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Governments have a right to regulate demonstrations, but not to ban them for spurious reasons or to keep them out of sight and sound of every government building.”....."