CAIRO: The threat of unjustified arrests and fear of unilateral legislative powers, among other issues, topped the concerns of human rights activists in the country following the parliament s decision to renew the Emergency Laws.
While some say that the laws don t affect their day-to-day work, others have described how this set of controversial law articles has hindered their working process.
In addition to the arrests of Islamists, who have been held in jail without charges, Gasser Abdel Razek, member of the board of trustees of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, says the only other time the laws have been used significantly was in the Saad Eddin Ibrahim case.
Abdel Razek recalls how Ibrahim, sociologist and human rights activist, was charged with receiving funds from a foreign entity. This charge is from a law President Hosni Mubarak issued without referring to the parliament, Abdel Razek explains. Emergency Laws give the president the authority to pass a law unilaterally, he adds.
Other than that, we don’t have a direct problem with Emergency Laws in our day-to-day work, says Abdel Razek; however, the threat of sudden arrest looms over any activist. Additionally, any activist arrested could have to undergo martial trial under emergency laws.
Nonetheless, he notes, NGOs are part of the society and consequently are affected by whatever affects the society as a whole. Lamiaa Lotfy, from the New Woman Foundation, supports this view.
She, however, feels that Emergency Laws do affect her daily work. With the increasing authority and powers the laws grant the security forces, they have control over all human rights organizations, she explains.
As long as you work in human rights you will always collide with the [emergency] laws, adds Lotfy.
From the outset, security authorities have the power to grant or deny permission for the founding of NGOs. Lotfy says the foundation she works for went through a year of trials just to get a license to work.
She also recalls an incident when the foundation organized a conference on honor crimes in Egypt. At the last minute, security authorities denied them permission to hold the event.
As for it s work on issues of concern, recently it was campaigning for a law that would make DNA tests mandatory in paternity cases, she asks how women rights activists can rally for a certain cause if they can t even demonstrate or if protestors are under threat of arrest afterwards.
Emergency Laws don t criminalize demonstrations; the Egyptian penal code does. However, Emergency Laws legitimize the arresting of citizens without charges.
Abdel Razek notes that Islamists are usually the target of these arrests. Throughout the years, thousands have been arrested and had to spend years in jail without trial.
Lotfy says that due to the fear of arrests, many families and citizens are reluctant to talk about their problems. They are even afraid of receiving help, she adds.
Although the New Woman Foundation focuses on women s rights, it also works on more general societal problems. Studying the latest sectarian strife in Alexandria and the societal state in Sinai following the terrorist attacks are but a few examples.
The New Woman Foundation was concerned with the authorities policy of taking women hostage to pressure related suspects to turn themselves in. Many analysts believe the application of this policy in Sinai paved the way for the terrorist attacks.
Abdel Razek agrees, explaining that emergency laws have created a state of intimidation but failed to eliminate terrorism. This defies the government s claims that the laws are crucial in maintaining security and fighting terrorism.
In the light of these problems, the renewal of the controversial laws has created even more concerns. Abdel Razek says the problems stem from the law and its application within the society, referring to the martial trials and the arrests.
He adds that the problem lies in the society and its need for reform. The renewal, he continues, kills any hope for reform for the next two years, even though Mubarak had promised the abolishment of the Emergency Laws in his presidential election campaign as part of a bigger plan for reform.
This is a clear indication that there is no real intention for reform, says Abdel Razek.
