Sisi ratifies amendments to Counterterrorism Law after parliamentary approval

CAIRO - 11 November 2021: President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ratified three amendments to the Counterterrorism Law after being granted final approval from the House of Representatives earlier in November.

Article 36 of the law has been amended to prohibit filming, recording, or streaming any parts of a trial on terrorist crimes except with the permission of the court. Violators are punishable by a fine of L.E.100,000-L.E.300,000 and seized items shall be confiscated.

The penalty of disclosing state defense secrets has been updated, where the fee is increased from L.E.100-500 to L.E.5,000-50,000, and the jail time of six months to five years remains as is. Further, the article has been amended to clearly state that attempting any crime mentioned in the article is punishable by the same penalty “to establish more deterrence against such crimes,” according to a statement by the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, article 53 of the Counterterrorism Law has been amended to add that the president of the republic shall assign a specific authority to apply the measures he ordered per the same article. The article stipulated that the president may order the evacuation or isolation of an area or impose curfew therein to maintain security and public order and protect citizens in case of a terrorist crime or one that results in a natural disaster.

This amendment creates more “flexibility” in issuing decrees implementing the measures. It also aims to confront the dangers of terrorist crimes in a way befitting the new models of such activities as experienced locally, regionally, and internationally, the statement said.