The Egyptian presidency’s official website highlights a decision by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi under the headline: “President Issues New Criminal Procedure Code Following Parliament’s Approval and the Removal of Grounds for Objection” (https://h1.nu/1HAfh).

The presidential decision, published on 12th November 2025, has yet to take effect, more than a year after its approval and publication in the Official Gazette. The authorities say the delay is due to the need to complete the technical and logistical preparations and training required to implement the law.

The delay in implementing the controversial law, which was due to come into force on 1st October 2026, has prolonged the suffering of political opponents and prisoners of conscience held in pretrial detention.

Many have spent more than a decade behind bars, often facing politically motivated trials that lack even the basic guarantees of a fair hearing.

Many have spent more than a decade behind bars, often facing politically motivated trials that lack even the basic guarantees of a fair hearing.

Reasons for the delay

The authorities say the postponement will give the relevant bodies an additional year to put the necessary infrastructure in place, complete the technological preparations and provide the training required to implement the law. The legislation restricts pretrial detention to specific cases and grounds, sets time limits for its use and subjects it to judicial oversight. It also gives defendants the right to appeal court orders for their detention.

Opponents, however, argue that delaying the implementation of the new Criminal Procedure Code (Law No. 174 of 2025) until 1st October 2027, a year later than originally planned, has further hindered efforts to secure the release of political prisoners.

A source at the General Secretariat of Egypt’s House of Representatives told the independent outlet Mada Masr that the decision to postpone the law’s implementation followed security reports and recommendations from the National Security Agency, Egypt’s domestic intelligence service. The reports warned against releasing hundreds of detainees who had already spent longer in pretrial detention than the law allows.

Since the military coup on 3rd July 2013, tens of thousands of political prisoners have been held in Egyptian prisons. They include human rights defenders, journalists, doctors, university professors, women and children, as well as supporters of the late President Mohamed Morsi.

Since the military coup on 3rd July 2013, tens of thousands of political prisoners have been held in Egyptian prisons. They........

© Middle East Monitor