The Egyptian government has agreed on a constitutional amendment to extend the legal detention period of some defendants, a local newspaper reported. 

The amendment applies to defendants sentenced to death or life imprisonment and authorizes the Cassation Court to extend the temporary detention period by 45 days and renews it when necessary. 

Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi justified the amendment saying that some crimes that harmed national security require an intensive investigation for the facts to be revealed. 

A misdemeanor court released former President Hosni Mubarak in August after he spent the maximum detention period pending investigations in crimes he committed while in office.