[5] It permits indefinite detention without trial and hearings of civilians by military courts, prohibits gatherings of more than five people, and limits speech and association.
[7] This has led to the imprisonment of activists without trial,[14] illegal, undocumented and hidden detention facilities[15] and the rejection of university, mosque and newspaper staff based on their political affiliation.
After Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011, power passed to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) which stated that the law would be repealed when the streets finally clear of protesters.
[30] On 14 August 2013, acting president Adly Mansour declared a month-long state of emergency following the Council of Ministers' approval and ordered the armed forces to help the Interior Ministry enforce security.
The decision followed violent clashes during Rabaa and Nahda sit-in dispersals between supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi and the security forces.
[33] 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.
[36][37] The 2014 Constitution included provisions limiting 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 having a new three-month emergency period approved by a rubber stamp parliament immediately after the preceding one was due to expire.