President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has signed into law a sweeping overhaul of Egypt’s criminal procedures code on Wednesday, finalizing a contentious reform package that drew condemnation from human rights defenders and the country’s Lawyers' Syndicate.
The ratification follows parliament's concession, and amendment of eight articles previously rejected by El-Sisi, including the highly controversial Article 105, which allows prosecutors to interrogate suspects without a lawyer present under vague claims of urgency or threat to the suspect’s life.
The final version permits prosecutors to initiate interrogation if a regional Lawyers' Syndicate is contacted for a public defender and none appears. Interrogation may proceed until a lawyer arrives—who can review the questioning retroactively.
This clause provoked a walkout by Social Democratic Party MPs and drew fierce objection from Lawyers' Syndicate head Abdel Halim Allam, who opposed any provision enabling legal proceedings without defense counsel present.
MP Atef Nasser, of the pro-government Future of the Nation party, proposed limiting exceptions strictly to life-threatening situations, but the suggestion was overruled.
The presidency said the revised law now includes “enhanced safeguards” that preserve rights and public freedoms, arguing it narrows the scope of prosecutorial discretion.
It cited new restrictions that allow judicial oversight over emergency interrogations and provide detainees the right to appeal such measures, absent in the earlier draft.
One of the key amendments delays implementation until the start of the next judicial year, October 2026, to give legal institutions time to adapt. Courts will also be required to set up mobile phone notification centers, a new procedural tool, according to the presidency's statement.
The law also expands the list of alternatives to pretrial detention, increasing them from three to seven. These include travel bans, contact restrictions, electronic monitoring, and temporary firearm bans, though their application will depend on the Justice Ministry’s cooperation with the Interior and Communications Ministries.
Another provision requires prosecutors to conduct quarterly reviews of all detainees held in pretrial custody, rather than the current single review, reflecting a recommendation from the Foreign Ministry’s Supreme Standing Committee for Human Rights.
The law clarifies conditions under which authorities may enter private homes, limiting it to emergencies such as fires, floods, or distress calls, a clause the presidency claimed aligns with constitutional protections.
Despite the government’s reassurances, rights groups remain critical. The original bill, passed in April and vetoed by Sisi over eight contested articles, had alarmed legal observers for codifying remote trials, expanded prosecutorial authority, and restrictions on lawyer access to investigation files.
In October, parliament approved the bill after revising the disputed clauses. Still, Article 105 remained a flashpoint. Allam called it a dangerous breach of defendants’ right to counsel.
Last month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights sent an official communiqué to Egypt urging it to address persistent violations—including concerns related to the criminal code and its misalignment with international standards, which it had flagged earlier in the year.
In February, the UN Human Rights Council’s UPR working group had also issued a report on Egypt with 343 recommendations from 137 countries, focusing on ending enforced disappearances, halting the recycling of detainees, releasing political prisoners, and safeguarding press freedom.
The Egyptian government claimed in response that it had implemented 301 of the UPR’s previous recommendations, with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stating that the country had achieved “measurable progress across all levels.”
