Egypt's newly elected leaders must "urgently reform the arsenal of laws" used by Mubarak's regime, for law to become "an instrument that protects Egyptians’ rights rather than represses them", said Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report released Monday - 'The Road Ahead: A Human Rights Agenda for Egypt’s New Parliament'.
Citing the penal code, associations law, assembly law, and emergency law, HRW said,
"[The exisiting laws] limit public freedoms necessary for a democratic transition, challenge respect for the rule of law, and impede accountability for abuses by the police and the military".
“Egypt’s stalled transition can be revived only if the new parliament dismantles Egypt’s repressive legal framework, the toolbox the government has relied on for decades to silence journalists, punish political opponents, and stifle civil society,”“Egypt’s new political parties need to live up to the promises of the Egyptian uprising by ensuring that no government can ever again trample on the rights of the Egyptian people.”
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