The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) has criticized the arbitrary arrest of citizens and inspection of their private phones in Egypt, describing these phenomena as violations of the constitution.
The NCHR noted the gravity of the situation facing the country amid the “war on terrorism”, at the same time criticizing citizens’ subjection to security measures that the Council described as “arbitrary,” including the legally unjustified increase in arrests of citizens crossing roads and squares and the prevention of communication between relatives, which violates the law and the Constitution.
The council discussed during its monthly meeting Thursday under the chairmanship of Mohamed Faeq and in the presence of Mukhlis Qutb, Secretary General of the Council, and other members of the Council, a number of files related to its strategy, its executive plan, and the current human rights situation.
The council announced in a statement that it monitored police arrests of citizens walking in the streets and observed police forcibly inspecting citizens’ private phones, an action that violates citizens’ privacies guaranteed by the constitution.
The statement criticized the deteriorating situation of the national media, which lacks credibility and professionalism and fails to carry out its duty as a national information source, inspiring many to resort to foreign media. According to the statement, national media incites terrorism and violence.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
