The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has submitted a written statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council during its 61st session under Agenda Item 3, addressing the systematic misuse of counter-terrorism legislation in Egypt to suppress freedom of expression and dismantle civic space.
In its statement, CFJ highlights how counter-terrorism laws—particularly Law No. 94 of 2015 on Countering Terrorism and Law No. 8 of 2015 on Terrorist Entities—have been increasingly used as legal tools to criminalize peaceful expression and target civil society actors, including journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, researchers, and political activists.
The statement explains that rather than serving as narrowly tailored measures to address genuine security threats, these laws have become part of a broader legal framework used to silence dissent and restrict public participation. Peaceful activities such as publishing articles, sharing opinions online, documenting human rights violations, or engaging with international mechanisms are frequently reframed by authorities as terrorism-related offenses.
CFJ also draws attention to the growing use of digital repression through the combined application of counter-terrorism legislation and the Cybercrime Law (Law No. 175 of 2018). These laws grant authorities broad discretionary powers to criminalize online speech, impose censorship, and conduct surveillance, contributing to the blocking of independent media outlets and human rights websites.
The statement further highlights the close link between terrorism-related prosecutions and the widespread practice of enforced disappearance. Individuals accused in such cases are often subjected to secret detention by the National Security Agency, denied access to lawyers and families, and exposed to torture and ill-treatment before being brought before prosecutorial authorities.
CFJ notes that these cases frequently rely on coerced confessions or confidential security reports, while allegations of torture or enforced disappearance are rarely investigated. Furthermore, it raises concerns about the continued use of the practice known as “rotation,” whereby detainees are added to new terrorism cases after completing the maximum period of pretrial detention, allowing authorities to prolong detention without trial.
In its statement, CFJ stresses that the misuse of counter-terrorism legislation undermines both the rule of law and genuine efforts to address security threats. We called on Egyptian authorities to bring their counter-terrorism framework into compliance with international human rights law by ending the criminalization of peaceful expression, halting the use of enforced disappearance and torture, and ensuring accountability for violations.
CFJ also urges the Human Rights Council and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism to continue closely scrutinizing these patterns and to call on the Egyptian authorities to end the misuse of counter-terrorism measures as a tool to restrict rights and freedoms in Egypt.
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