US 'concern' at Egypt powers

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

US 'concern' at Egypt powers
The United States has "serious concerns" about Egypt's extension of
emergency laws which allow it to detain suspects without charge and try
civilians in military courts.

The Egyptian parliament on Sunday approved a three-year extension to the
emergency legislation - which has been renewed continuously since 1981.

"We have had serious concerns that we have often raised with the government
of Egypt concerning the manner in which that law had been applied," said a
State Department spokesman, Philip Reeker.

Since 11 September 2001, the US has itself made extensive use of emergency
powers to detain without charge and hold military tribunals against
civilians in its "war on terror".

About 600 people have been held without charge in the US Camp Delta at
Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for over a year.

However, Mr Reeker said, the Egyptian Government appeared at times to stray
from strict application of the laws.

'Protection against enemies'

"For example," he said, "we have expressed our concerns regarding the
practices of referral to the emergency courts of cases that do not appear to
be linked to national security, and referral of civilians to military
tribunal for non-violent offences and the indefinite renewal of
administrative detention."


On Sunday, the Egyptian Prime Minister Atef Ebeid was quoted as saying the
measures "aimed to protect the country against its enemies" but would "not
be used against freedom of expression".

Egyptians have lived under emergency laws since 1967, except for an 18-month
break in 1980. 

Police have prevented some rallies against the impending war on Iraq in
Egypt - one of the top recipients of US foreign aid.

Human rights group Amnesty International has also complained that the
emergency laws are at times used to stifle freedom of expression. 

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