Egypt to expedite Criminal Procedures Code amendments as president pushes for reduced pretrial detention

CAIRO – 22 August 2024: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the Cabinet has agreed on expediting action to finalize amendments to the Criminal Procedures Code in light of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directives on the importance of reducing pretrial detention periods.

In a press conference after the Cabinet weekly meeting on Thursday, Madbouly said the government discussed the directives of President Sisi in light of the state’s keenness to implement the National Strategy for Human Rights and the outcomes of the National Dialogue.

Madbouly affirmed finalizing the law’s amendments in coordination with the National Dialogue’s outcomes to be swiftly sent to the House of Representatives for discussion as a priority issue with the start of the coming legislative season.

Reducing pretrial detention

On Wednesday, President Sisi underscored the importance of reducing the maximum durations for pretrial detention, emphasizing the necessity to maintain its preventive nature as a measure necessitated by investigations, without it evolving into a punitive action.

Sisi also highlighted the need for activating the application of diverse alternative pretrial detention measures, said a statement by Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy.

Furthermore, the president stressed the significance of providing financial and moral compensation to rectify the harm caused to individuals who have been subjected to wrongful pretrial detention.

Sisi made the remarks following the reception of recommendations from the National Dialogue regarding pretrial detention and criminal justice.

The National Dialogue was initiated by the president in April 2022 to engage various sectors of society, including politicians, parliament members, and political forces, in discussions on key national issues.

Sisi has directed referring the recommendations to the government and ordered prompt actions to implement the agreed-upon ones, responding to the diverse and specialized discussions of the National Dialogue, the statement added.

On Monday, the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue announced the submission of recommendations from the dialogue's committee on human rights and public freedoms concerning pretrial detention and criminal justice to the president.

The discussions of the dialogue addressed issues related to the duration and alternatives of pretrial detention, handling multiple and concurrent crimes, compensation for wrongful pretrial detention, and measures accompanying preventive detention.

The dialogue sessions held to discuss the matter involved around 120 speakers, with the participation of politicians, human rights activists, public figures, representatives of political parties, heads of human rights organizations, and representatives of the Presidential Pardon Committee, said the dialogue.

In recent years, the Egyptian prosecution has released hundreds of pretrial detainees, and many others have received presidential pardons since the launch of the dialogue and the reactivation of the Presidential Pardon Committee.

The board of the National Dialogue has consistently advocated for the release of pretrial detainees, including those who were recently arrested for engaging in activities that support the Palestinian people during the ongoing war in Gaza.

Criminal Procedures Code reforms

The Egyptian Parliament is currently working on new legislation aimed at reducing pretrial detention periods alongside other reforms within the country's Criminal Procedures Code.

As per Article 143 of the code, pretrial detention is limited to six months for misdemeanor cases, 18 months for felonies, and two years for felonies punishable by death or life imprisonment.

This week, MP Ihab El-Tamawy, head of the parliamentary subcommittee responsible for formulating the new code, revealed proposals to shorten these timeframes to four months for misdemeanors, 12 months for felonies, and 18 months for felonies punishable by death or life imprisonment.

Tamawi noted that the amendments of the code aim to reduce the periods of pretrial detention and address compensations for wrongful detention, whether in pretrial detention or detention for serving a sentence.

The amendments also establish specific regulations for travel bans and inclusion on watch lists to protect citizens' freedom of movement, Tamawi said.

The legislation also reorganizes the appeal against absentia judgments to ensure achieving effective justice while also guaranteeing the protection of citizens' right to litigation.

Moreover, the amendments aim to abolish physical coercion for the collection of amounts arising from crimes adjudicated for the state or others and to replace the obligation of the convicted to perform public service tasks, aligning with the new punitive systems, Tamawi said.

He highlighted the adoption of the principle of no trial without a lawyer in all stages of investigation and trial.

He also emphasized the activation of women's and children's rights protection by postponing the enforcement of some penalties on pregnant women, in accordance with Islamic law provisions and international agreements and treaties.