A draft law to combat illegal immigration would punish offenders with prison terms of 10-20 years and hard labor, Youm7 reported.
The Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organization, under the presidency of Naguib Gobrail, prepared the draft legislation and sent it to Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, another was sent to Transitional Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ibrahim al-Heneidy, and a third copy was sent to the presidency.
The draft law consists of 17 articles; they define the illegitimate immigration, the illegal infiltration and the offender.
The draft any person who causes the death or drowning of any person, would be subjected to the death penalty.
Egypt and Italy have been coordinating to curb illegal immigration, as Egypt’s north shore is a destination for asylum-seekers from Syria, Palestine, and some African countries. Illegal immigration has resulted in several cases of abuse, blackmail, torture and human trafficking; meanwhile, hundreds have drowned on their way to Europe.
On other hand, several attempts of illegal infiltration have been hindered at the Egyptian-Libyan border over the past few months.
There is an ongoing intensive operation along the border with Libya to prevent any infiltration or illegal immigration.
The Sallum crossing has also received thousands of Egyptians returning from the war-torn Libya.
So far, over 36,000 Egyptians have returned since mid-February, when 20 Egyptian Copts were beheaded in Libya at the hands of the Islamic State (IS) group.
