Legislative committee approves amendments to terror list law

CAIRO – 7 October 2019: Parliament's Legislative Committee on Monday approved a draft law submitted by the government to amend some provisions of Law No. 8 of 2015 concerning the organization of the country's lists of terrorist entities and persons.

The draft law exempts the public prosecution from bearing the cost of publishing the decisions to list terrorist entities and persons, or extend their duration, or remove any of the names from the lists, in Egypt's official gazette.

The decision aims at easing the burden on the Public Prosecution, as it had to pay large amounts of money in the event of publishing such decisions.

The decision also considered the prosecution's lack of interest in bearing the cost of these decisions, as a fair opponent that has a special legal status, represents the public interest, and seeks to fulfill the obligations of the law.

The Egyptian judiciary, since the ousting of late president Mohamed Morsi, who was also a leader for the Muslim Brotherhood "terrorist" group, has placed hundreds of Egyptian persons and entities on the terror lists.

According to the act on the regulation of the lists of terrorist entities and persons issued in 2015, the inclusion of any group or persons on these lists is automatically followed by the seizure of their funds and the issuance of travel bans. In case those designated as "terrorists" have been abroad, they are placed on the country's watch list.