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Rights advocates question Egypt’s decision to extend state of emergency

Critics of the Egyptian government fear that a three-month extension of the state of emergency will be used to crack down on them.
Mourners gather at the Sacred Family Church for the funeral of Coptic Christians who were killed in Minya, Egypt, May 26, 2017. Picture taken May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RTS17MF1

Egypt’s Cabinet on June 22 approved President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s proposal to extend the state of emergency by an additional three months, a move that rights advocates fear will further curtail freedoms in Egypt.

In a speech on the occasion of Laylat Ul Qadr (the night when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad), Sisi sought to justify the planned extension by highlighting the threat posed by extremist groups “that spread hatred and use religion to achieve their political goals.”

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