EGYPT: SYMPOSIUM ON THE DEATH PENALTY

December 16, 2019:

A two-day symposium on the modernization of the penal system was held in Cairo on December 14-15. The event was organized by the Arab Organization for Human Rights with Hands Off Cain as part of the project " Containing the death penalty in times of war on terrorism" supported by the European Union. At the center of the debate, how to reduce the use of the death penalty in light of the international standards referred to in Article 93 of the new Constitution.
For the first time, representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Solidarity and the one for Relations with the parliament, parliamentarians, the Deputy of Grand Mufti, Association of lawyers, prosecutors, judges and civil society spoke about it.
The symposium discussed a series of amendments to the penal code and criminal procedure which will now be submitted to the highest Egyptian authorities. For the first time, permission was also given to a non-governmental organization, the Arab Organization for Human Rights, to conduct visits to prisons in the country, an action that is always part of the same project. The first visit will take place on Monday 16 December and Elisabetta Zamparutti, treasurer of Hands Off Cain will also take part in it.