„A new law drafted by Egypt’s parliament would effectively prohibit independent non-governmental groups in the country by subjecting their work and funding to control by government authorities, including powerful security agencies, Human Rights Watch said today. On November 28, the State Council, a judicial body that reviews legislation, approved the draft, paving the way for parliament to send it immediately to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to sign into law. Members of parliament wrote and discussed the draft behind closed doors before formally presenting it for debate on November 14, 2016, and approving all 89 articles the following day. (…)
Parliament’s draft law would criminalize a host of broadly-worded activities, including conducting public surveys or field research without government approval, or conducting any work “of a political nature” or ‚within the scope‘ of political parties or workers’ unions. The draft does not define those terms, leaving them open for interpretation by the authorities. The law would affect 47,000 local and 100 foreign groups working in Egypt, according to government estimates. Nasser Amin, a member of the quasi-governmental National Council for Human Rights, called the draft ‚disastrous.‘ The Law on Civil Societies and Foundations and Other Entities Working in the Civil Sphere, as the current draft is called, comes at a time when Egyptian authorities are investigating dozens of independent human rights groups on allegations that they illegally received foreign funding, a crime under article 78 of the penal code, which al-Sisi amended in 2014 to carry a possible 25-year sentence.“ (Bericht von Human Rights Watch: „Egypt: Draft Law Bans Independent Civil Society Groups“)
