A heated debate in the local press is underway on the constitutionality of proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act that strip those convicted of terrorism of their citizenship. One of its detractors,Abdallah El Sennawy, takes to Al Shorouk to point out that the amendments — contrary to their stated intent — make no mention of terrorism, opening the door to abuse. MP Moustafa Bakry, who had himself proposed a draft law to strip convicted terrorists of their citizenship earlier this year, penned an oped in El Watan defending the amendments on the grounds of national security. Even he acknowledged the poor wording of the amendments, but passed the buck on to the Council of State, saying it is up to it to remedy the phrasing.

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