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EOHR made a reservation on the bill of preventing demonstrations inside worship places
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6/1/2008
EOHR express its reservation on the bill of banning demonstrations inside worship places or at its courtyard as it violates the freedom of opinion and expression in general and the right to demonstrate and the right to peaceful assembly in particular while these rights were guaranteed by constitution and the international covenants of human rights and were ratified by Egyptian government and became valid legally .
As for the Egyptian Constitution , Article 54 confirmed the citizens rights to prepare meetings quietly without weapons and without previous permission , security men are not allowed to attend their private meetings .General meetings , processions and peaceful assembly are permitted in the frame work of law .
As for the international covenants , the second article of the first clause of The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights stipulated that every person has a right to participate in assemblies and peaceful meetings .
Article 21 of The International Covenant On Civil & Political Rights discussed the right to peaceful assembly without imposing restrictions except for some necessary procedures that should be taken for the interest of national security or public safety or public system or public health or protecting the rights of other .
Despite the constitutional and international protection for the right to peaceful assembly and express about opinion , we find a law appears from time to time to restrict this right . The bill mentioned above impose severe restrictions against demonstrators in mosques and churches ,this bill include 4 articles as follows:
The first article :
-Prohibiting demonstrations inside worship places or at its courtyard.
The second article
-Not violating any severe punishment in any other law that penalize the transgression of the embargo stipulated in the first article . Sentences 1 year imprisonment and a fine not less than 1000 L.E and not exceed 5000 L.E or with both two punishments if the perpetrator is one who promote for demonstration and sentence every person participate in demonstration to 6 months imprisonment and a fine not less than 500 L.E not exceed 2000 L.E or both of these two punishments.
The third article :
-Individual who instigate demonstrations will be punished with the rules of the first article while who just participate will be punished with rules stipulated in the second article even in case of no influence occurred behind demonstration.
The fourth article :
-The law is issued in the newspapers and being performed after one day from issuing .
The bill is added to other laws that restrict the right to peaceful assembly , but it comes with new violations as it impose severe restrictions on demonstrators . Examples of laws that hinder the right to peaceful assembly are as follows :
1- Assemblage law No.10 /1914 which is considered an exceptional law comes near to martial law , this law was imposed in an exceptional circumstances when Egypt was under occupation . According to this law , executive security is given an absolute power to confiscate the freedom of individuals which was guaranteed by Egyptian Constitution in Articles ( 47- 54).
2- The law of meetings and demonstration No.14 /1923
This law lacks the constitutionality as it issued at the absence of legislative councils , it consists of 3 main rules which violate the freedom of peaceful assembly as follows :
- The necessary for informing police before holding the meeting as the second article stated that police must be informed with meeting before 3 days , this period decreases to 24 hours if the meeting was electoral .
- Police right to prevent the meeting before holding as the fourth article stipulated that governor and police have the right to prevent the meeting before holding . Article 9 of the law stated that rules of this article become valid over all meetings , processions and demonstrations which were held for political targets .
- Police right to attend and dissolve the meeting during the session as Article 7 stated the right to attend the meeting and choose the place of holding and it stated its right to dissolve the session . So it gave the police unlimited power to be a visitor , judge and executive in few minutes besides the right to dissolve decisively the session .
Also this law was criticized as follows :
- Decreasing the period of electoral meeting besides, the right to dissolve the meeting before holding and the right to dissolve it during the session .
Article 8 , passage 2 of the law gave police the right to consider and estimate meetings whether it is held in general or private place and this gave the right to attend the meeting and the right to dissolve .
- This law doesn’t leave people free even after their death . The law stated that if a funeral ceremony organized , executive authority has a right to cancel or determine the traffic of the funeral as Article 9 stated .Also Article 3 of police body law stated that police has a power to protect system and public security and morality and protect lives , money and assurance for citizens in all different fields . According to this determination for policemen job tasks , law grant them many means to accomplish their tasks including physical strength to force individual to accomplish laws and rules .
In this concern , Article 102 of the law gave police men the right to use power as long as it is the only way to perform their tasks .This article open a wide door for using power without limitation , using power is an issue appreciated by police men while article doesn’t stipulate limited means to use power .
3- Emergency law No.162 /1985 .
According to emergency law , authority has a jurisdiction over the freedom of individuals in their meetings , movements , traveling and it has a right to detain and check people and places without abiding by the law of criminal procedures and this is a violation against rights and freedoms and guarantees which were stated by Egyptian Constitution .
In the view of the above mentioned , EOHR confirmed that the bill mentioned will be added to other laws that restrict the right to peaceful assembly , this law will deprive citizens from the freedom of peaceful expression and it will violate the international covenants related to the freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly which was ratified by Egypt and became part and parcel of its interior law according to Article 151 of constitution .This bill will form a breach for Egypt international duties before the general assembly of UN .
In this concern , EOHR confirms that the above mentioned bill restricts rights and represses freedoms in Egypt , so , EOHR calls for the following:-
- On legislative level, this bill must not be ratified by members of people’s assembly as it violates Egypt international commitments .
- Revise the legislative entity from clauses that violate the right of peaceful assembly and the necessary for abiding by the international covenants related to this rights .In this concern, EOHR repeats its calling for canceling emergency law as it violates many rights and freedoms including the right of peaceful assembly.
- Canceling law of assemblage No.10/1914 and law No.14/1923 and enacting new law to organize the right to demonstration according to the international and constitutional standards . Interior ministry should be informed with all information related to demonstration such as direction and time and place and path in order not to hamper traffic .
- Interior ministry should issue a clear instructions to security force to interact with demonstration without using power including shooting with live bullets or rubber bullets .
- Eliminating all restrictions imposed on the right of organizing assemblies and parties and unions due to its importance as a base for organizing the right to demonstration to whom they want to practice this right .
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