In a climate of intimidation .. Rights demands international monitoring of the referendum to amend the Constitution in Egypt

Mohamed Seif El Din - Cairo

Egyptian human rights organizations called on the international community and civil organizations to monitor and evaluate the referendum process to amend the constitution to be held outside Egypt starting on Friday for three days, and inside Egypt from Saturday to the same period.

The parliament approved the amendment of some articles of the constitution that allows the extension of the mandate of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi until 2030 and extends its executive and legislative authority and its dominance over the judiciary. The amendments also put the army above the state as the guardian of the constitution and the state's citizenship.

In a joint statement read to Al Jazeera Net reporter, human rights organizations demanded the need to assess the general atmosphere in which the process of constitutional amendments takes place as a whole.

The organizations are the Cairo Center for Human Rights Studies, the Egyptian Front for Human Rights, Comte for Justice, the Freedom Initiative, the Nadim Center, and the Center for Democracy and Freedoms.

Terrible climate
The organizations stressed that the constitutional amendments are taking place in a climate of intimidation, as well as denying the Egyptians the most basic rights to express their rejection, and some of them in prisons, and a complete attachment to the media, which singles alone in cases not related to the referendum.

The statement condemned the restriction of the work of Egyptian independent human rights organizations in Egypt and hindered its role as a watchdog on the referendum process.

The organizations rejected the stigmatization of opponents of the constitutional amendments by treason, and the launching of reports against each other and accusing them of publishing false news and treason, and incitement against the Egyptian state and abuse.

The statement cited what happened with the artists Amr Waked and Khalid Abu Al-Naga, who stopped the Association of representative professions membership on the background of their participation in meetings with members of the US Congress to introduce the status of human rights and the future of democracy in Egypt.

International criticism
This came at a time when Amnesty International (Amnesty) criticized parliament's approval of amendments to the constitution, saying it was a complete disregard for human rights.

"The decision to put these amendments to the constitution in a referendum in the midst of the worst crackdown on freedom of expression and severe restrictions on political parties and independent media demonstrates the Egyptian government's contempt for the rights of all in Egypt," said Magdalena Magrabi, deputy director of the organization's regional office for the Middle East and North Africa. .

The National Elections Commission has set the date of 19, 20 and 21 of this month as a date for the referendum on constitutional amendments abroad.

While the referendum is held in Egypt on 20, 21 and 22 of the same month from 9 am to 9 pm (Cairo time).

The final outcome of the constitutional amendments is to be announced and published in the Official Gazette on April 27.