The draft anti-terrorism law approved by Egypt’s cabinet last week includes “dangerous articles” which threaten media and press freedoms, the press syndicate said on Monday. The syndicate’s board discussed the draft law during a meeting on Monday, when it stressed that it stands by the armed forces in its fight against “terrorist attacks”. The cabinet passed the draft on Wednesday and referred it to the State Council, after militants in Sinai escalated their attacks on security forces in the peninsula. The Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis conducted a string of attacks on a number of security checkpoints and a police station on Wednesday, in a failed attempt to take over the Sheikh Zuweid town. The cabinet said the anti-terrorism law achieves “swift and just deterrence”, whereas the syndicate criticised it for allowing imprisonment in cases related to publishing. Egypt’s Transitional Justice Minister Ibrahim al-Heneidi called on the syndicate to submit to the government its recommendations regarding the draft law, in statements to reporters on Monday. The legislation has yet to be issued by the president to come into effect. Controversial Articles The syndicate’s board said in a statement issued…
