Egypt emergency laws extension shows ‘contempt for rule of law’: HRW News
Egypt emergency laws extension shows ‘contempt for rule of law’: HRW

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] Wednesday sharply criticized [press release] Egypt's decision to extend [JURIST report] the country's emergency laws [EOHR backgrounder] for a further two year period, saying the move "shows contempt for the rule of law." Emergency laws have been in effect in Egypt since the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat [memorial website], giving the government and security services the authority to censor the media, arrest and detain anyone deemed a threat to state security, ban demonstrations, and try civilians in military courts [JURIST report]. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif [official profile] has said that the emergency laws are necessary to combat terrorism, but HRW Wednesday urged the government to repeal the laws and instead enact new specially tailored terrorism laws [JURIST report] that are less repressive.

On Tuesday, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US was "disappointed" in the extension [DOS press briefing transcript] and urged Egypt to pass the new counter-terrorism laws. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.