By Sonia Farid | Special to Al Arabiya News<\/p>\n
Based on available information, Hisham Mohammad Ahmed al-Tayeb is the first Egyptian to be stripped of his citizenship. According to a cabinet decree issued on Oct. 15, the decision was taken because of \u201chis permanent residence outside the country and his links to a foreign body that works on destabilizing national security.\u201d
\nLaw 26 of 1975 gives the state the right to strip Egyptians of their citizenship \u201cwhether recently naturalized or of Egyptian parentage \u2026 at any time\u201d if they are involved in \u201cactions that threaten the country\u2019s security.\u201d<\/p>\n
Journalist Ahmed al-Sawy questions why no information was released about Tayeb, either from the Interior Ministry that requested the penalty or the cabinet that authorized it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe published decree contained no details,\u201d wrote Sawy. \u201cWhat is the crime Tayeb committed to deserve having his nationality stripped? What is the name of the foreign body that works on destabilizing Egypt\u2019s security?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sawy said even if this body is Mossad, there has not been one case when such action was taken against people found guilty of spying for Israel, and the same applies to terrorists.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of the terrorists convicted before civil or military courts were stripped of their nationality even with their threat reaching its peak in the 80s and 90s,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Sawy cited the examples of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mustafa Hamza, the mastermind of the plot to assassinate former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Ethiopia.<\/p>\n
Despite the limited information available about Tayeb and his alleged crime, the decision has stirred controversy, with many wondering if this punishment will be applied to more Egyptians.<\/p>\n
Gamal Eid, head of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, said such a decision cannot be made without a court order. \u201cIf a person is acting suspiciously, then a trial should take place,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s totally unacceptable to strip people of their nationality without giving clear reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mohammad Zarea, head of the Arab Penal Reform Organization, agreed that a trial should precede such a decision, which in the case of Tayeb is administrative, not judicial.<\/p>\n
Zarea added that stripping people of their citizenship \u201cviolates all universal charters\u201d and is \u201ca practice no longer applied anywhere around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said this punishment can only be applied automatically if Egyptians obtain a foreign passport without permission from the Interior Ministry, as required by law. \u201cHowever, there are many Egyptians who did this and were never stripped of their citizenship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gamal Gibril, professor of constitutional law, said the judiciary is not authorized to strip citizenship. \u201cHowever, the citizen whose nationality was stripped can file a lawsuit against the prime minister to contest the decision,\u201d he said,<\/p>\n
adding that the state should announce the reasons for such a decision in order not to stir the public.
\nAhmed Arafat, head of the Constitutional Reformation Committee at the City Council, said: \u201cA new constitutional declaration has to be issued by the president\u201d to make such a punishment constitutional.<\/p>\n
There have been previous calls to strip members of terrorist groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, of their citizenship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose who conspire against their countries do not deserve to carry its passport,\u201d said former MP Mohammad Abu Hamed. \u201cIf the constitution allows sentencing terrorists to death then surely stripping them of their nationality would not be a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abdel Ghaffar Shokr, head of the Socialist Alliance Party and vice chairman of the National Council for Human Rights, said Brotherhood members can be stripped of their citizenship as a last resort if they continue to threaten Egypt\u2019s security.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Netherlands has actually announced stripping members of terrorist and militant groups of Dutch nationality and this is a good step on the road to eliminating terrorism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Brotherhood denies having any connection with Tayeb, as claimed by some media outlets.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly fascist regimes would strip citizens of their nationality,\u201d said Mohammad Gamal Heshmat, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood Council. \u201cYet we would expect anything from a regime that came to power through a coup and for this reason every decision it makes is null and void.\u201d<\/p>\n
Activist Karim Abdel Radi objected in principle to giving the state the right to strip people of their citizenship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe state does not have the right to strip citizens of their nationality because it did not bestow it upon them in the first place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the state is allowed to make such decisions, then every citizen who belongs to the opposition would risk the same fate.\u201d<\/p>\n