CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has signed off on an anti-terrorism law that gives authorities more sweeping powers to ban groups on charges ranging from harming national unity to disrupting public order. The move was announced in the official Gazette on Tuesday. According to the Gazette, the law enables authorities to act against any individual or group deemed a threat to national security, including people who disrupt public transportation, an apparent reference to protests. The Interior Ministry says it investigates all allegations of wrongdoing and is committed to Egypt's democratic transition. Under the mechanism of the law, public prosecutors ask a criminal court to list suspects as terrorists and start a trial. Any group designated as terrorist would be dissolved, the law stipulates. It also allows for the freezing of assets belonging to the group, its members and financiers. Since taking office in 2014, Sisi has identified Muslim Brotherhood as a threat to national security. He has linked the Brotherhood with far more radical groups, including one based in Sinai that supports the self-proclaimed Islamic State group. — Reuters
