The House of Representatives approved during its plenary session on Monday, a draft law submitted by the government to amend the Penal Code.

Head of the legislative committee at the parliament, Ibrahim Al-Hunaidi, said that the law was approved in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution in its articles 59, 86 and 200.

It aims to help the state protect the homeland and citizens from different threats, and to achieve a safe and secure life for all citizens and residents.

Al-Hunaidi added that the draft law also aims to help the Egyptian state preserve the national security of the country, which is a national responsibility of all state institutions and citizens.

The draft law includes toughening the penalty for disclosing state security secrets, to increase the fine to EGP 5,000 – 50,000 instead of the current EGP 100 – 500. This is in addition to the prescribed penalty of imprisonment of not less than 6 months and not more than 5 years, for attempting to commit any of the crimes mentioned in the article with the same penalty prescribed for the complete crime, all to achieve more general deterrence before this crime.

The report of the legislative committee stated that the obligation to preserve the security secrets of the country and not to divulge them is one of the important duties entrusted to citizens and to every resident on state lands.

In the report, the committee emphasized that the various legislations in all countries devoted their attention to imposing their own penalties to ensure the stability and integrity of the state and to spread security throughout its territory.