UN human rights experts raise concerns about Egypt’s Criminal Procedures bill in letter to govt

Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/eudebates A group of United Nations human rights experts have sent a communication to the Egyptian government expressing their concerns about draft articles of the new Criminal Procedures Code bill currently being discussed in Parliament. The bill, which was hastily introduced in recent months, has been touted by the government as an achievement in minimizing the periods of remand detention and offering alternatives to it. However, the bill has drawn fierce opposition from rights groups, non-governmental organizations, and the journalists and lawyers syndicates, who criticized the legislation for expanding the powers of the security and judicial apparatuses at the expense of defendant rights. “The 11-page communication sent by seven UN experts to the government underscores the severity of the human rights violations embodied in the [Criminal Procedures Code bill],” Amnesty International’s Egypt researcher Mahmoud Shalaby told Mada Masr. The correspondence, drafted by members of advocacy groups working on arbitrary detention and forced disappearance, the special rapporteurs on freedom of expression and assembly as well as several rights rapporteurs, zeroed in on a number of problems in the bill. While welcoming new time caps on remand detention, the experts noted that the provisions of the bill “continue to allow for prolonged pretrial detention” and “fail to address the documented practice of ‘rotating cases’ or ‘case recycling’ in Egypt, whereby prosecutors add defendants to multiple cases on near-identical charges in order to restart the clock on pre-trial detention.” The experts also noted that the bill fails to introduce any safeguards to ensure that remand detention would not be misused to punish critics, dissidents and opponents, despite repeated commitment by Egyptian authorities to address the issue. While the bill introduces financial compensation for unlawful remand detention, it also places “stringent eligibility criteria” that create significant obstacles for individuals seeking compensation, the experts said. Similar criticisms have been raised about the legislation by defense lawyers in Egypt. The experts also noted in the communication that, in some cases, the legislation might expand prosecutors’ power to use remand detention to keep suspects in prison as well as to issue travel bans and asset freezes. If passed, the bill would allow prosecutors to renew remand detention orders for up to 150 days without judicial review in cases involving very broad charges, such as terrorism, establishing a group in violation of the law, publishing false news and blasphemy, the experts observed. Such charges are most often deployed against defendants in political cases. The UN communication also pointed to the bill’s codification of the practice of conducting hearings remotely, criticizing it as weakening defendants’ rights and noting “instances of remote hearings” under existing laws “during which judges do not allow detainees the opportunity to speak freely, citing a lack of time and a large number of cases.” The experts also expressed concerns about the expanded powers for law enforcement and prosecutors in the bill, as well as the vague wording used in some provisions and the potential threat it poses to citizens’ right to a fair trial, noting that “some of the amendments seem to violate provisions of the Egyptian Constitution” and “may be at odds with” Egypt’s obligations under international human rights law, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Concluding their communication, the UN experts asked the government to review the bill and explain how its articles comply with Egypt’s obligations under international law. They also asked Egypt to provide safeguards against the political misuse of remand detention, and offer reforms to the current anti-terrorism law. Mada Masr contacted two MPs on the House Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, which gave initial approval to the bill, to ask them if the House will respond to the UN experts’ communication. Stay connected with us! Facebook:   / eudebates.tv   Twitter:   / eudebates   Instagram:   / eudebates.tv   #eudebates the unique initiative aiming to promote debate, dialogue, knowledge, participation and communication among citizens. #Egypt #humanrights #Meloni #Giorgia_Meloni #Migration #VonderLeyen #migrants #FRONTEX #Italy #Libya #mediterranean #rights #europeanunion #egyptian #egypte #égypte #Abortion #Rights #TERMINATION #women #girls #pregnant #EUlaw #Poland #Democracy #RuleofLaw #Health #medical #pregnancy #healthcare #embryo #fetus #intervention #miscarriage #pregnancies #termination #removal #expulsion #Doctors #doctorlife #feminism #feminine #feminineenergy