Protest Law Set to be Reformed

The protest law is set for drastic reform under new measures proposed by the National Council for Human Rights.

If given the green light, the reforms spearheaded by the group would see protesting defined as a human right.

According to the new reforms, in case a notice for a protest is rejected, the interior ministry should appeal the decision in front of the administrative court and not the protest's organisers, as currently stated in the law.

Finally, those who violate the law would pay fines and not face prison sentences under the new measures.

NCHR boss Nasser Amin slammed the original law, saying, "A number of entities, who oppose the freedom to protest, participated in drafting the protest law." 

He added that the council will suggest the removal of some points in the law, including the procedures of the interior ministry in dispersing protests that turn violent, as well as stated charges for the possession of weapons during protests – points that Amin says already exist in criminal law and thus shouldn't be in the protest law.