EGYPT (continued)
Right No.
CONFIDENTIAL
Rating suggested by Post
(ii)
of his dignity, are forbidden by the Constitution. The government in recent years has strongly con- demned the use of torture in ear- lier days in Egypt. On the other hand we suspect that police methods are open to criticism. Systematic beating was in the recent past part of normal interrogation procedures for suspected felons and it is pro- bably still widely used.
(iii) Slavery is not known to exist, though
it is possible that some of the forms of domestic servitude in rural Egypt would fall within the broad definitions of slavery which the UN sometimes uses.
(iv) Under the Constitution freedom to
express opinion is guaranteed "with- in the limits of the law" and free- dom of the media is also guaranteed though "limited censorship" is per- missible in a state of emergency or time of war. There have been a very considerable advance in these fields in the last few years. Egyptians, in contrast to the situation under Nasser, can now speak their minds on most subjects without fear of serious repercussions. The media, though no longer directly censored, practice a form of self-censorship and all the main newspapers follow the government line. Direct criticism of the Head of State is never given publicity but somewhat veiled criticism of other senior figures appears from time to time. Recently, increasing publicity has been given to the views of poli- tical opposition groups.
(v) The constitutional provisions measure
up well to international standards. The President places great weight in public speeches on the independence of the judiciary. Judges are appointed for life by the President and cannot
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CONFIDENTIAL
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