Cairo: 19 September 2018

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) said today that the siege on independent journalism in Egypt, which has led to the absence and curtailment of critical voices or different views, is no longer enough. Repression has reached the final stage where a free circulation of views is allowed; the Internet. Law No. 175 of 2018 on cybercrimes was issued and has come into effect since 15 August 2018. This law has, in turn, cracked down on the internet’s use and browsing, as it makes internet users considered defendants until they gain the security services’ favor.

After a thorough discussion made by ANHRI on the articles of such unjust law, we publish today an analysis paper entitled “Silence Legislations: Did not Spare the Internet.. A Position Paper about the Cybercrime Law”. The paper includes a detailed discussion of the restrictions placed by this law, many of which deem illogical and illegal, such as Article (14) which states that whoever, deliberately or unintentionally, gains unauthorized access to a website or a personal account shall be sentenced to prison or a huge fine.  These articles were passed under a political regime that allowed and turned a blind eye to the crimes of surveillance committed against dissidents, and tapes were aired on state-backed TV channels. Such a matter proves that the state is adopting double standards as if legislations are introduced to be applied against only some citizens in particular.

The paper analyzing the law and its 45 articles also exposes a fatal flaw that allows security services to block websites and electronic accounts, in a flagrant infringement of the Supreme Administrative Court’s precedents, which rule that like newspapers, websites can punish those who violate the law without blocking the website itself; because this represents a waste of the public’s right to have access to various opinions and information establishing the rule that criminal offense is of a personal, not a public, nature.

The paper also gives some specific recommendations to internet users in order to avoid falling into the trap of these crimes, as well as recommendations for the legislative authority and investigative bodies which are expected to work on cases based on this law. The paper, as well, provides lawyers with some recommendations in order to be prepared for challenging the unconstitutionality of most of the law’s articles and its unjust sanctions, so that the situation would be stable and the siege on the internet would be lifted.

The paper is available through the following link: Silence Legislations: Did not Spare the Internet