Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has approved amendments to the country’s state of emergency that grant him and security agencies additional powers, which the government says are needed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The changes on Saturday were condemned by a prominent rights group, which said Cairo has used the public health crisis to “expand, not reform, Egypt’s abusive Emergency Law”.
The new amendments allow the president to take measures to contain the virus, such as suspending classes at schools and universities and quarantining those returning from abroad.
But they also include expanded powers to ban public and private meetings, protests, celebrations and other forms of assembly.
The government has waged an unprecedented crackdown on dissent since 2013, when el-Sisi led a military coup that deposed his democratically-elected predecessor, President Mohamed Morsi of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement.
The amendments also allow military prosecutors to investigate incidents when army officers are tasked with law enforcement or when the president orders it.
The country’s chief civilian prosecutor would have the final say on whether to bring matters to trial.
The amended law would also allow the president to postpone taxes and utility payments as well as provide economic support for affected sectors.
Parliament, which is packed with el-Sisi supporters, approved the measure last month.
(With the outputs from Al Jazeera)
