Emergency law in Egypt

In Egypt, the emergency law details the governance and declaration mechanisms of a state of emergency.
During a state of emergency, government and police powers are extended, constitutional rights are suspended, censorship is legalised and habeas corpus is abolished. Non-governmental political activity and freedom of movement is restricted, including street demonstrations, unapproved political organizations and unregistered financial donations. A special court is also established to overview crimes subject to its jurisdiction. The emergency law permits indefinite detention without trial and hearings of civilians by military courts, prohibits gatherings of more than five people, and limits speech and association. The government is empowered to imprison individuals for any period of time, and for virtually no reason.
Pro-democracy advocates in Egypt argued that the long-running states of emergency in Egypt go against the principles of democracy, which include a citizen's right to a fair trial and their right to vote.

Overview

A total of five nationwide states of emergency have been declared since the Egyptian revolution of 1952.

A state of emergency was first declared by Gamal Abdel Nasser during the 1956 Suez Crisis, before being lifted in 1964. During this period, a permanent emergency law was promulgated in 1958.
The second state of emergency, the first invoked under the 1958 emergency law, lasted from the 1967 Six-Day War until 15 May 1980, when it was lifted by President Anwar Sadat.
The third state of emergency was declared immediately following the assassination of Sadat in 1981, and was repeatedly extended every three years under President Hosni Mubarak. The legislation was extended in 2003 and was due to expire on 31 May 2006. In 2006, the Emergency Law was extended by two years though Mubarak had previously promised reforms including the repeal of the law to replace it with other measures, such as specific anti-terrorism legislation. The extension was justified by the Dahab bombings in April of that year. In May 2008 there was a further extension to June 2010, and again two years later to 2012, albeit with the government saying that it would be applied only to "terrorism and drug trafficking" suspects.
Following the 2013 coup d'état, interim president Adly Mansour declared a one-month state of emergency on 14 August 2013 and ordered the Egyptian Armed Forces to help the Interior Ministry enforce security. The announcement made on state TV followed deadly countrywide clashes between supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi and the security forces. Following a two-month extension, the state of emergency was lifted in November 2013.
The fifth state of emergency was declared following the Palm Sunday church bombings on 9 April 2017. The 2014 Constitution limited the duration of a state of emergency to three months, renewable once on ratification by a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. The government circumnavigated this limit by declaring a new three-month emergency period, which was to be approved by the rubber stamp parliament, immediately after the preceding one was due to expire. The 1958 emergency law was amended on request of the government in April 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the SCAF imposed de facto martial law on 13 June 2012. The Justice Ministry issued a decree giving military officers authority to arrest civilians and try them in military courts. The provision remained in effect until a new constitution was introduced, and meant that those detained could remain in jail for that long, according to state-run Egy News.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi declared a local state of emergency in North Sinai Governorate in 2014, where the Egyptian Armed Forces continued to battle an ongoing jihadist insurgency.