Egypt’s Parliament is in the process of drafting a new penal code that pardons debt defaulters. The drafted code will be up for discussion in the next parliamentary meeting in October 2018. The amendment of Article 341 and 376 of the penal code will replace prison and custodial sentences with monetary fines or community service. Alaa Abed, head of the Egyptian parliament committee, revealed to reporters that the committee believes that it is unjust to punish individuals who take loans to support their families. “We also hope that this initiative will help safeguard Egyptian society from disruption and protect children whose mothers and fathers were forced to serve prison sentences for defaulting on loan payments,” Abed told Ahram Online. This decision took place after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi pardoned 627 debt defaults on August 21, the first day of Eid Al Adha. It was done as part of the “Prisons without Debt Defaulters” presidential initiative. The first step of this campaign took place in June, when 683 debt defaulters were pardoned on the first day of Eid Al Fitr. On the occasion of July 23, the anniversary of the…
Parliament Considers Eliminating Prison Sentences for Debt Defaulters
August 26, 2018
