CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has signed into law a new anti-terrorism bill, a text that has prompted criticism from rights groups and even some senior judges, state media reported on Monday. The 54-article law, published on state news agency MENA, provides an extremely broad definition of terrorism, describing it in one article as any act that disturbs public order with force. It also prescribes stiff jail sentences for a range of crimes, including promoting or encouraging any “terrorist offense,” as well as damaging state institutions or infrastructure, such as military or government buildings, courthouses, power and gas lines, as well as archaeological sites. The law also sets heavy fines of 200,000 to 500,000 Egyptian pounds (some $26,000 to $64,000) for publishing “false news or statements” about terrorist acts, or news contradicting the Defence Ministry’s reports. Egypt has not had a Parliament for over two years, and legislative authority rests with el-Sissi, who has passed dozens of laws in his 14 months in office. The Cabinet approved the draft last month, two days after a car bomb in an upscale Cairo neighbourhood killed the country’s prosecutor general, Hisham Barakat.