Press Releases

23 August 2010

State Security Court Rejects Interior Ministry Appeal of Release Order for Shi’ite Detainees

The Supreme (Emergency) State Security Court rejected yesterday an appeal filed by the Minister of Interior challenging a lower court’s order to release Mohamed Farouq Mohamed al-Sayyed, who was detained because of his affiliation with the Shi’ite confession. The Supreme Court ordered the release of the detainee and upheld an order issued on 28 July by another circuit court.

3 August 2010

EIPR: Opening up All Jobs to those with Hepatitis C is a Positive Step against Discrimination but it is Not Enough

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) welcomed today Minister of Health Decree 371/2010 prohibiting discrimination against people with hepatitis C and upholding their right to work.

29 July 2010

State Security Court Orders Interior Ministry to Release Shi’ite Detainee... EIPR Calls for the Release of All Shi’ite Citizens, Asks Public Prosecutor to Investigate the Torture of One Detained Shi’ite

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) today called upon the Interior Ministry to immediately release Mohamed Farouq Mohamed al-Sayyed and seven other Shi’ite citizens who have been detained arbitrarily for more than a year. The call follows a decision by the Supreme (Emergency) State Security Court on 28 July overturning an administrative detention order issued against al-Sayyed, who was detained because of his affiliation with the Shi’ite confession.

25 July 2010

EIPR asks Public Prosecutor to Guarantee the Safety and Freedom of the Wife of a Deir Mawas Priest

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) expressed its dismay with official reports that the security apparatus had “turned over” Kamilia Shehata, the wife of a Coptic priest, to her family pursuant to a request from church leaders. The EIPR asked the Public Prosecutor to intervene to guarantee the 25-year-old woman’s right to physical safety and personal freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution and the law.

22 July 2010

After University President is Served with a Notice, Fayyoum University Implements Court Ruling Allowing Women Who Wear the Niqab to Take Exams

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) welcomed today the decision of the president of Fayyoum University to comply with a court ruling issued on behalf of several female students who wear the niqab, or full-face veil, in their final year at the Faculty of Education. The court ordered the university to convene a special proctoring committee to allow the students to take their exams after the university initially cancelled them because they wear the niqab.

7 July 2010

EIPR: The Sick are Paying the Price of Government’s Failure to Marshal Resources for State-Funded Treatment

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) expressed its alarm at Minister of Health Decree 290/2010, which sets new limits on state-funded medical treatment. The EIPR said that the ministry is making the sick bear the cost of the government’s failure to arrange resources for state-funded treatment.

29 June 2010

Egypt: Keep Promise to Free Detainees by End of June... May 11 Emergency Law Revisions Mean No Legal Authority to Keep Hundreds of Prisoners

The Egyptian government should keep its promise to free detainees who can no longer be held because of changes on May 11, 2010, in the scope of application for the country’s emergency law, a coalition of twelve Egyptian and international human rights organizations said today.

27 June 2010

Foreign Policy - Egypt's Emergency Law Strikes Again

On June 6, a pair of police officers entered an Alexandria Internet cafe and began asking for the identification documents of everyone present. When 28-year-old Khaled Said objected to being searched without a warrant, the officers began to attack him, beating his head against a table and kicking him in the chest.

21 June 2010

CRR, ACPD, and EIPR Applaud 108 Countries' Call for U.N. to Address Maternal Deaths and Disabilities as Human Rights Issue

The Center for Reproductive Rights, Action Canada Population and Development (ACPD), and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) praised a group of United Nations Human Rights Council member states and observer states for calling on the U.N. to address pregnancy-related deaths and injuries around the world as a human rights issue. In a joint statement, 108 states acknowledged a recent study by the U.N.

13 June 2010

Egypt: Rights Groups Expose Systemic Violations by Government Before UN Rights Council... Government Minister Pledges Mechanism to Monitor Implementation of UN Recommendations

(13 June, 2010)-  The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) concluded its first review of the human rights situation in Egypt under the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism.