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Amnesty International describes security move as biggest threat to human rights since January revolution Egyptians have returned to Tahrir Square to rally against the military junta’s reactivation of Mubarak-era emergency laws, and Amnesty International has described the move as the biggest threat to human rights in the country since the revolution of 25 January. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which has ruled Egypt since the fall of Hosni Mubarak earlier this year and has promised to hand over to an elected civilian government in November, announced that it was broadening the application of emergency law following clashes at the Israeli embassy in Cairo last Friday. The suspension of normal civilian rights and the existence of special “security courts” were a hallmark of the Mubarak regime, which maintained a permanent emergency law throughout the former dictator’s reign. Mubarak said last year that emergency laws would only be applied to those suspected of drug-related or terrorism offences, as public opposition to the virtually unlimited powers granted to the security forces began to grow. Following the ousting of Mubarak in February, SCAF promised to end emergency law as soon “as soon as current circumstances end”, but the military council has now chosen instead to widen the laws in order to combat what it says are acts of terrorism and anarchy. “These changes are a major threat to the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, and the right to strike,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and north Africa. “We are looking at the most serious erosion of human rights in Egypt since Mubarak stepped down. The military authorities have essentially taken Egypt’s laws back to the bad old days. ” Activists fear the legal clampdown will be used to further stifle popular dissent against military rule. The new military decree extends emergency law to cover a glut of vaguely defined transgressions that could easily be applied to legitimate protest, including “infringing on others’ right to work”, “impeding the flow of traffic”, and “spreading false information in the media”. In the seven months since SCAF assumed power, several peaceful demonstrations have been violently broken up by soldiers, while media outlets and bloggers seen as critical of the junta have been taken off air or arrested. Meanwhile, an Egyptian steel magnate who rose to become one of the country’s most influential men under the old regime has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of corruption. For many Egyptians, Ahmed Ezz, the owner of Ezz Steel and Egypt’s most important political power broker under Mubarak, came to symbolise everything that was wrong with the former president’s Egypt – a bastion of crony capitalism where the lines dividing the political and business elite became increasingly blurred. Calls to bring Ezz to justice have been one of the central demands of the revolution. Two other Mubarak-era figures were also handed jail sentences in the same court: Rachid Mohamed Rachid, the country’s former trade and industry minister, was given 15 years in absentia; and Amr Assal, an ex industrial chief, received 10 years. The three defendants were also ordered to pay fines totalling $335m (£212m) between them. Egypt Arab and Middle East unrest Hosni Mubarak Middle East Africa Amnesty International Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk