The Defense and National Security Committee of the House of Representatives discussed on Monday the passing of counter-terrorism laws, including a law to withdraw Egyptian nationality from those found guilty of terrorist operations or espionage.
The suggestions are expected to be added to Egyptian Nationality Law if approved by parliament.
Article 16 of the Egyptian Nationality Law states that the cabinet has the right to withdraw nationality from a citizen found guilty of espionage for a foreign country at war with Egypt, found guilty of harming Egypt's military or diplomatic interests, or proven to be or have been associated with Zionism.
The development of counter terrorism legislation is among the priorities of the committee, said Head of the Defense and National Security Committee Kamal Amer.
The committee will discuss the possibility of withdrawing the nationality of Egyptians involved in terrorist acts, in addition to studying the situation in Sinai and other border areas, he added. The committee will examine all aspects of the proposal and its impact on society
Awarding Egyptian nationality to Arabs
Sameh Sedqi, nephew of Mubarak-era Prime Minister Atef Sedqi, suggested granting Egyptian nationality to citizens of other Arab nations in return for financial contributions to the Egyptian economy, following the practice of some European countries. It is hoped that this could help ease the current economic crisis gripping the country.
Committee head Amer, however, dismissed the notion as "nonsense". It will not be discussed by parliament, he said.
Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, head of the Parliamentary Committee for Human Rights, refused to discuss the granting or withdrawing of Egyptian citizenship, saying, “It’s not a game, something that we can have debates on. It’s a controversial issue that is ruled by the 2014 Constitution.”
He underlined that the Constitution protects the rights of Egyptians, does not anticipate the proposal will be accepted by parliament. He also indicated that it is better to penalize those involved in terrorism with other means of punishment to the withdrawal of citizenship, as this would negatively affect young people.
Offering Egyptian citizenship to Arabs in return for financial contributions will not be effective, he said, as Egypt does not attract immigrants like Europe and North America do.
The buy and sell of citizenship
MP Mostafa Bakry said that withdrawing Egyptian citizenship from whoever commits a terrorist crime is entirely favorable.
Speaking to Youm7 news website, Bakry said he will be applying pressure for the passing of this law, but rejected the proposal on granting citizenship to Arabs in return for financial contributions, which he considered "inappropriate talk".
“We don’t sell our citizenship. Suppose that an Israeli national has deposits and huge sums of money, can we grant him citizenship? Or can we grant it to Arab terrorists? Forget the idea,” he said.
Meanwhile, MP Mohamed Abu Hamed rejected the proposal of awarding Arabs Egyptian citizenship, saying that the economic crisis in Egypt is temporary. The president had ordered for economic reform that will help resolve the crisis soon. Egyptian citizenship is too holy to be offered for sale.
Withdrawing citizenship from those involved in terrorism or espionage, he said, requires judicial verdicts.
