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Middle East and North Africa

Egypt
Last reviewed: 27 January 2008

Country information

POLITICS

Overview

President Mubarak assumed power in October 1981, after President Sadat's assassination by Islamist extremists. He was re-elected on 7 September 2005 for his fifth successive term. This was the first contested presidential election in Egypt, following a change to the constitution in May 2005.

In March 2007, the constitution was amended again. It is difficult to judge the practical impact but the changes were criticised as reducing not increasing political freedoms and guarantees. The changes were supposed to pave the way for the introduction of counter-terrorism legislation, and the consequent ending of the State of Emergency which has existed continuously since 1981. This gives the authorities the ability to detain people suspected of being a threat to national security and public order.  But in May 2008 the State of Emergency was extended again, for two years or until counter-terrorism legislation is introduced.

The amended constitution sets out the procedures for the succession to the President. The next presidential elections are due in 2011. In the event of the President becoming temporarily ill before then, the Prime Minister would assume his role. Should he become permanently incapacitated, the Speaker of the People's Assembly would become caretaker Head of State for up to 60 days until presidential elections were held.

The President appoints the Prime Minister. Ahmed Nazif has occupied the post since July 2004. Elections to the People's Assembly are held every five years and were last held in November/December 2005. 454 deputies are elected by popular vote, 10 are appointed by the President. The second chamber, the Shura Council, has 176 elected members and 88 presidential appointees. The last Shura Council elections were held in June 2007.

President Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) holds the majority (361) of the 444 seats in the People's Assembly. The largest opposition bloc is that of the Muslim Brotherhood (nominally independents) who hold 88 (almost 20%) of the seats. The Brotherhood, although generally hitherto tolerated, is a banned organisation in Egypt, and all religious parties are prohibited under the constitution. Secular parties are also subject to restrictions. In February 2005, Ayman Nour, leader of the liberal Al Ghad Party and a presidential candidate was charged with alleged forgery. He was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment in December 2005. This and other controversial issues are covered in full by an increasingly diverse and lively independent media, which is often highly critical of senior figures.

 

HUMAN RIGHTS

Egypt is a signatory to all the major UN human rights conventions. In January 2004, we welcomed the establishment of a National Council for Human Rights chaired by the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali, as a demonstration of Egypt's willingness to improve their human rights record. Nevertheless there is still much work to be done, much of which has been set out in the National Council's reports. Freedom of expression and freedom of the media are two examples of areas in which the Egyptian Government has made progress. But we shall continue to encourage the Egyptian authorities to work towards improving their human rights record.

One of the key human rights concerns in Egypt is the widespread mistreatment of detainees and use of torture in police stations, especially in cases involving political detainees. The government has taken some steps to address the problem, such as allowing semi-independent prison inspections, improving prison conditions, and paying compensation to victims of torture. There have also been a few court cases against police and prison officers accused of mistreating detainees. But the basic problem still remains, and we actively encourage the Egyptians to tackle it.

The Egyptian Government is sometimes accused of persecuting Coptic Christians and other religious minorities, such as Bahá'ís, and restricting freedom of religion. The President is personally involved in efforts to promote tolerance and inter-faith harmony, and has taken some concrete steps to promote and protect Christian rights, such as appointing Christians to parliament and other senior government posts (including the current head of the National Council for Human Rights, Minister of Finance, Minister of Environment and Governor of Qena) and declaring 7 January – Coptic Christmas – a national holiday. But sectarian tension and discrimination does sometimes exist at grass roots level, and non-Muslims remain under-represented in certain sectors of society e.g. the armed forces.  Another concern is the difficulty in obtaining permits for building churches; this eased somewhat after a presidential decree in 2005 devolving the regulation of church repairs to governorate level. Further changes may be on the way if Parliament passes the ‘Unified Building Law’, that will regulate the building and restoration of all places of worship.  Other issues of concern include difficulties faced by religious minorities including converts from Islam to Christianity when obtaining official documents, and the requirement to stipulate one of the three Abrahamic religions on ID cards. We will continue to raise these issues with the Egyptian Government.

For more information about individual human rights cases which have been raised, please see Egypt FAQs below

 

EGYPT - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What has the UK done about the persecution of Christians in Egypt?

The British Government is committed to promoting tolerance and mutual respect between religions. Although the majority of citizens in Egypt are Muslim, there is a large Christian minority who are free to practise their own religion. We are aware that there are isolated incidents of violence against the Coptic Christian community in Egypt and where appropriate, along with EU partners and others, we raise our concerns about these incidents with the Egyptian authorities. We also discuss these incidents with the Coptic Church in Egypt. The Egyptian Government place a strong emphasis on national unity which includes creating tolerance between Coptic and Muslim communities. They therefore have a shared interest with the Coptic Community in tackling the threat posed by religious intolerance and extremism.

What is the UK's position on religious conversion in Egypt?

Egypt is an Islamic country. Religious conversion is a sensitive issue in Egypt. The Government does not interfere with the practice of other religions but conversion from Islam to Christianity is frowned upon and encouraging conversion is illegal. Where there is evidence of violation of human rights, we of course make our views known to the Egyptian Authorities.

What is the UK's position on Egyptian Identity Cards?

The lack of administrative provisions for converts to change their religious affiliations and the limited choice of religions on identity cards is a problem. There are strict laws pertaining to falsification of identity cards. Along with our EU partners we have made our views known to the Egyptian Authorities, and will continue to do so.

What is the UK's position on the incident at El Kosheh in 2001?

We were deeply concerned by the sectarian violence in El-Kosheh in January 2001, which left 20 Christians and one Muslim dead. We have followed the case closely, and made our concerns known at the time.

We were encouraged that the Prosecutor-General persistently sought judicial review of early judgements in the case, reflecting the authorities' concern that justice be done.

We are concerned that this process seems, following a decision of the Court of Cassation in June, to be at an end. We will continue to make our concerns known to the appropriate authorities.

What representations did the UK make to the Government of Egypt concerning the detention of Dr Ayman Nour MP?

The UK, together with other EU partners, has raised the arrest and imprisonment of Ayman Nour with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a regular basis. We have made clear to Egypt that while we are conscious that they regard Mr Nour’s arrest and detention as an internal matter, it risks sending negative signals of Egyptian’s commitment to political reform. We were disappointed when the courts found Dr Nour guilty in December 2005 and sentenced him to five years in prison.

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Egypt

See Also

Useful Links

• BBC News Country Timeline: Egypt

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