by Our Foreign Desk

EGYPTIAN President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi signed a new anti-terrorism Bill into law yesterday, prompting criticism from human rights groups and even some senior judges.

The new law provides an extremely broad definition of terrorism, describing it in one article as any act that disturbs public order with force.

It also prescribes stiff jail sentences for a range of crimes, including promoting or encouraging any “terrorist offence,” as well as damaging state institutions or infrastructure, such as military or government buildings, courthouses, power and gas lines and archaeological sites.

The law sets heavy fines of 200,000 (£16,370) to 500,000 Egyptian pounds (nearly £41,000) for publishing “false news or statements” about terrorist acts or news coverage that contradicts Defence Ministry reports.

Egypt has not had a parliament for over two years and legislative authority rests with the president, who has passed dozens of laws in his 14 months in office.

The cabinet approved a draft of the law last month, two days after a car bomb in a wealthy Cairo district killed prosecutor general Hisham Barakat.

While the cabinet was approving the proposed legislation, extremists launched a multipronged attack, attempting to seize the northern Sinai town of Sheikh Zweid, hitting the military with suicide attacks and battling soldiers for hours.

At Mr Barakat’s funeral, a visibly angry Mr Sissi shouted that the courts must work faster.

The government has also pushed back aggressively against foreign media, which officials accuse of exaggerating the seriousness of the Sinai attacks, and a military spokesman has warned local media against using foreign media reports.