NAIROBI, Kenya — An official in Kenya is criticizing the United States for raising concerns about a new Kenyan law aimed at fighting terrorism.

President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the law Friday, and critics in Kenya have said it will be used to crush dissent by curbing civil liberties.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday: "We're... concerned about provisions that appear to limit freedom of assembly and media, and access to asylum for refugees."

Munyori Buku, a senior official at the state house, said in a statement on his president's website Saturday that Kenya's new law has checks and balances, unlike U.S. security laws that have created the Guantanamo Bay detention center and given U.S. FBI and intelligence officers "a carte blanche in the fight against terrorism and biological warfare."

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