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Egypt's parliament may give Sisi more control over the press

A new draft law has been presented that gives President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the right to form a new Supreme Press Council with full authority over the media.
Egyptian journalists gesture behind bars during their trial at a court on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt May 31, 2016. The banner reads, "Hey Press Syndicate, why is there no support for 10 of us?"  REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RTSFZK8
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CAIRO — A new crisis has erupted following a draft law proposed in the parliament this month that would give President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the right to temporarily form a new Supreme Press Council until the issuance of a law regulating the media and press. A draft of the latter was presented by the Supreme Press Council to the Cabinet 10 months ago, but it is still being reviewed by the State Council before being sent to parliament.

The controversial draft law was submitted June 12 by member of parliament Mustafa Bakri, a member of the Committee on Culture and Information and himself a journalist, after collecting the signature of 324 legislators — more than half the 595-member parliament. This proposal would change Article 68 of Law 96 of 1996 on the organization of the press, giving Sisi the authority to form the Supreme Press Council anew and give it full authority for it to be able to make journalistic changes. This comes after the terms of many board chairmen of journalistic institutions ended in January; the terms of the editors of the national newspapers also terminate at the end of this month.

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