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Cairo, 27/11/2002
AHRLA calls for forming a front to resist the negative aspects of the new law Amid international and local atmospheres contain flagrant violations to the human rights; from the American flagrant intervention of the nations inner affairs that recently summated with the tries to overthrow the Iraqi regime and controlling its resources of gas, to the violation of the Palestinian right to determination, the procedures that bring under the banner of "fighting the terrorism"; the government of Egypt is discussing a new law draft for the communication just to standardize what already we are suffering from of violations of the right to express and circulation the information as well as the personal rights. The new Communication law contains 92 articles and allows the authorities to control the various forms of communication (telephone talks, e-mail messages, search the internet, etc). In this regard we have to indicate that the events of September, 11 fowled as a reaction with some bills in the United States that entitle the authorities to control the circulation of information through the internet and added to those ones that considered as violation to the freedom of the foreigners particularly the Muslims and Arabs. It seems then that the fight of terrorism become as a gold opportunity for the oppressive regimes to deprive their peoples from freedom of express, privacy and the circulation of information, thus the fighting of terrorism become as a common target between the administration of Bush and the Government of Egypt! The Association for Human Rights Legal Aid at the night before has issued a press release included the Arabic translation of the conclusions and recommendation of the COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE that brought in response to the Fourth Periodic Report submitted by the government of Egypt and included several notes about the violation of the freedom to express under the banner of fighting the terrorism. The government of Egypt could not miss this opportunity, whereas we can monitor its attitudes in this respect as a follower to the American Administration in controlling the communication and privacy of citizens and their right to circulating the information. It worthy mentioning that this law comes amid the position of the Informative System from in defending the right to express on the American campaign against some Egyptian TV installments. From the basic notes that we can monitor in the new law that its articles contain no any guarantee to the users and clients of the networks of communication and that also it does not determine the responsible bodies to protect the clients to which the citizens can complaint for. The article No. 65 of this law permits the listening to the phone talks and communication through the Internet. This comes contradictory to several articles of the Egyptian Constitution, for instance the article No. 45 that includes "The law shall protect the inviolability of the private life of citizens correspondence, wires, telephone calls and other means of communication shall have their own sanctity and secrecy and may not be confiscated or monitored except by a causal warrant and for a definite period according the provisions of law". And the article No. 57 that mentions: "Any assault on individual freedom or on the inviolability of private life of citizens and any other public rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the law shall be considered a crime, whose criminal and civil lawsuit is not liable to prescription. In this respect and in supporting the efforts made in this issue from some organizations and individuals, the Association for Human Rights Legal Aid calls for forming a front to resist the negative aspects of this law which forms a dangerous project against the public and personal freedom. And AHRLA in this respect is willing to provide all the means can easing the events of this front. |