Minister of Transitional Justice Ibrahim al-Heneidy said he would submit the draft counter-terrorism law, revised by the Supreme Committee for Legislative Reform, to the Cabinet during its meeting on Wednesday, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb.
In remarks to the press on Tuesday, Heneidy added that the bill is not new, as the State Council had prepared it at elast 3 years ago, although it needed to be amended by the Ministry of Justice.
The minister explained that the most prominent amendments are related to simplifying the judicial procedures in relation to crimes of terrorism, granting additional powers to law enforcement officers and investigators during interrogations, and facilitating the procedures for investigating the funding of terrorism by decreasing the confidentiality of bank accounts. Other provisions foresee a 5 year sentence to anyone using social media or the internet to promote ideas leading to terrorist acts or to communicate with terrorist groups
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
