The Egyptian President, Abdel Fatah al Sisi, announced this Monday (25) that he will not renew the state of emergency, introduced in the country for more than four years due to several attacks against Coptic churches.
“Egypt has become, thanks to its great people and its loyal men, an oasis of security and stability in the region,” al Sisi declared on his official Facebook page.
“That’s why I decided to cancel the renewal of the state of emergency throughout the country,” he added.
Enacted throughout the Egyptian territory in April 2017, after several attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State (EI) against Coptic churches – the main Christian minority in the Middle East – in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria (north), the state of emergency it had been renewed uninterruptedly ever since.
Since 2014 it was in force on the Sinai Peninsula (East), the target of an armed Islamist insurrection led by a local branch of the EI group. A curfew was also instituted in the region.
A state of emergency considerably expands police powers over arrests and may imply restrictions on freedom of movement.
NGOs regularly denounce violations of fundamental rights in the context of the state of emergency in Egypt, where al Sisi has been carrying out a fierce crackdown on all forms of opposition since 2013, when he came to power.
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