Jordan Times, 2/25/03

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CAIRO (AFP) — The Egyptian parliament extended by another three years the country's controversial emergency laws in force since 1981, the state news agency MENA reported on Monday.

The parliament, dominated by President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party, approved by a large majority a request from the government submitted on Sunday.

Thirty out of 454 deputies voted against the move, including 16 representing the Muslim Brotherhood, four from the rightist Wafd, six from the left-wing Tagammu and four independents.

In a statement to parliament, Justice Minister Faruk Seif Al Nasr gave an assurance that the measure was preventative and pledged that the government would only use it against “crimes of terrorism and linked to drugs, which threaten the stability of the country.”

On Sunday Prime Minister Atef Obeid said the emergency laws “aim to protect the country against its enemies and protect citizens against those that want to harm them.”

He urged the “majority and opposition to approve the decision of the president to renew the emergency law,” and said it would “not be used against the freedom of expression but to ensure the security of citizens.”

The laws were last extended for three years in February 2000, and are due to expire on May 31 this year.

Egypt has been living under the measures almost without a break since 1967. They were lifted for 18 months in 1980 but were reimposed in 1981 following the assassination by Islamists of then president Anwar Sadat. The laws grant authorities extensive powers to detain people deemed a threat to national security for 45-day renewable periods without charges. They also allow citizens to be tried before military tribunals and ban all public demonstrations.