A new purging of the judiciary
The undersigned organizations condemn the judgment issued on Monday, March 28, by the Supreme Disciplinary Committee to uphold a ruling by the Judicial Council’s Disciplinary Committee to force 31 judges into retirement. The organizations also condemn the judgment to refer Judge Yasser Mohi al-Din to retirement, even after he had previously been ruled fit for duty by the Judicial Council’s committee.
Background on Case No. 173 - the “foreign funding case”
The independent human rights community in Egypt is at unprecedented risk. The recent imposition of travel bans, asset freezes as well as the interrogation of NGO staff by investigative judges illustrate a clear plan to prosecute the entire independent human rights movement. If the prosecution goes ahead, it will lead to the closure of these NGOs and the sentencing of their workers, including on charges that carry life sentences in prison.
“Sudan Dams” case declared admissible by the African Commission: mass forced evictions, displacement, and forcible suppression of anti-dam demonstrations before the regional body
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has decided to examine a case against the Republic of Sudan involving forced eviction, inadequate compensation and suppression of protesters during the building of two dams in Northern Sudan. The complainants now have two months to send their briefs on the merits of the case.
Death Sentences in Kafr al-Sheikh Stadium Case After Unjust Military Trial
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights today condemned the sentencing of seven men to death on March 2 by the Alexandria Military Court in connection with case 22/2015/Tanta military criminal court, known as the Kafr al-Sheikh stadium case. EIPR reiterates its rejection of military trials for civilians and urges the military not to ratify the sentences and instead to refer the case to retrial before a competent civil court with due process guarantees.
16 Egyptian Rights Groups Write to the High Commissioner on the Human Rights Situation in Egypt and Ask Him to Adopt their Recommendations
Yesterday, Wednesday, March 9, 16 Egyptian rights groups sent a letter to Zeid Ra’ad, the UN high commissioner for human rights, detailing the state of human rights in Egypt and presenting their recommendations for stopping its ongoing deterioration. The letter was sent hours before the high commissioner is scheduled to address the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council, currently convened in Geneva, on March 10.
EIPR condemns five-year prison sentence for children on blasphemy charges: 12 defendants convicted in 9 cases since January 2015; 11 cases pending before courts and more cases pending before disciplinary bodies
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights condemns the convictions and sentences recently handed down in cases involving he so called “defamation and insult” of Islam. In the most recent case (no. 350/2015), the Beni Mazar Juvenile Misdemeanor Court sentenced three Coptic students—Muler Atef Daoud, Albert Ashraf, and Bassem Amgad—to five years in prison. A fourth defendant, Clinton Magdi, was placed in a juvenile penal institution when the case was referred to trial.
Attempted Shutdown of the Nadeem Center Exposes the War on Independent Rights Organizations
The undersigned organizations condemn the egregious assault on the Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture that is intended to obstruct its operation, based on a decree issued by the Ministry of Health to close the center and revoke its license.
Aqrab Prison Becoming Mass Grave for Detainees
The undersigned organizations are gravely concerned for the health and physical safety of Dr. Ahmed Said, who is currently detained in the Tora maximum security facility, known as the Aqrab Prison, in connection with his participation in a peaceful demonstration on November 19, 2015 held to commemorate the events of Mohammed Mahmoud.
EIPR calls for a serious and transparent investigation
On February 12, the general assembly of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate and the Cairo syndicate is scheduled to meet under the slogan “The Protection, Dignity, and Security of Doctors.” The meeting was called for after weeks of intimidation and a smear campaign against the Matariya hospital doctors for insisting on their right to hold Matariya policemen accountable for their assault and unlawful detention of two doctors at the hospital on January 28.
Cairo University’s termination of academic Kholoud Saber’s scholarship in Belgium and ordering her to return is a flagrant violation of academic freedom
The undersigned organizations strongly condemn Cairo University’s decision to terminate Prof. Kholoud Saber’s scholarship abroad and its order for her to return to Egypt. Saber, an assistant lecturer in the Faculty of Humanities, is pursuing a doctorate at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. The decision has serious consequences for academic freedom, in particular freedom of academic research.
Release the T-Shirt Detainee
The undersigned organizations strongly condemn the decision of the 24th circuit of the Giza Felony Court to extend the detention of high-school student Mahmoud Mohammed for another 45 days in connection with case no. 715/2014/Marg administrative. Mahmoud has already spent the maximum allowable time in pretrial detention (two years). We believe the court’s decision—taken without consideration for the series of violations seen in this case over two years—is a significant provocation.
Egypt’s borders have become a mass jail cell for activists and rights advocates
The undersigned organizations condemn the recent arbitrary travel bans issued against several individuals involved in public life, in particular human rights defenders, the latest being rights activist Gamal Eid, the director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. The orders are effectively turning Egypt into a mass jail cell for these individuals.
Journalism is not a crime: Release journalist Omar Abd al-Maqsoud and end the collective punishment of his family
Journalist Omar Abd al-Maqsoud and his two brothers Ibrahim and Anas have spent 21 months in pretrial detention since they were arrested in April 2014 because of Omar’s work as a journalist. Despite an acquittal in one case on trumped up charges of illegal assembly related to the period when they were forcibly disappeared, the brothers are still held in pretrial detention related to another case.
The Matariya Police Station Slaughterhouse
The family of Adel Abd al-Sami' , today filed a complaint with the public prosecutor (no. 1398/2015/Public Prosecutor petitions) stating that Adel had been tortured to death in the Matariya police station in October 2015 and formally urged the prosecution to investigate. His family saw injuries on his body during his detention as well as injuries on the body and burns on his arms after his death.
22 months in pretrial detention on charges carrying a life sentence: the penalty for a youth initiative to address the tragedy of street children in Egypt
The undersigned organizations strongly condemn the ongoing pretrial detention of Aya Hegazy, her husband Mohammed Hassanein, and five others—Sherif Talaat Mohammed, Amira Farag, Ibrahim Abd Rabbo, Karim Magdi, and Mohammed al-Sayyed Mohammed—for 650 days in connection with the Belady Foundation for Street Children. This is yet another example of the continued suppression of volunteer action and the quashing of youth and civil society initiatives.
22 months in pretrial detention on charges carrying a life sentence: the penalty for a youth initiative to address the tragedy of street children in Egypt
The undersigned organizations strongly condemn the ongoing pretrial detention of Aya Hegazy, her husband Mohammed Hassanein, and five others—Sherif Talaat Mohammed, Amira Farag, Ibrahim Abd Rabbo, Karim Magdi, and Mohammed al-Sayyed Mohammed—for 650 days in connection with the Belady Foundation for Street Children. This is yet another example of the continued suppression of volunteer action and the quashing of youth and civil society initiatives.
100 Days in Detention for Hisham Gaafar and Homeland Security Prosecution Renews Remand for the Seventh Time
The undersigned public figures and rights organizations are gravely concerned by the ongoing detention of writer and researcher Hisham Gaafar, the head of the board of trustees of the Mada foundation for Media Development, who has spent 100 days in detention. We demand his immediate release.
EGYPT: The United Nations Working Group Declares The Detention Of Yara Sallam as arbitrary And Requests Compensation
Cairo-Geneva-Paris, January 20, 2016 – A UN expert body, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), declares the detention of human rights defender Yara Sallam, as arbitrary, and requests immediate compensation. Several human rights groups urge the Egyptian authorities to apply this Opinion in relation to the numerous similar cases of human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in application of the draconian Protest Law.
EGYPT: The United Nations Working Group Declares The Detention Of Yara Sallam as arbitrary And Requests Compensation
Cairo-Geneva-Paris, January 20, 2016 – A UN expert body, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), declares the detention of human rights defender Yara Sallam, as arbitrary, and requests immediate compensation. Several human rights groups urge the Egyptian authorities to apply this Opinion in relation to the numerous similar cases of human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in application of the draconian Protest Law.
Freedom for Dr. Taher Mokhtar
The undersigned organizations demand the immediate release of Dr. Taher Mokhtar, member of the freedom committee at the Egyptian doctors' syndicate after security forces raided his residence on Thursday the 14th of January and arrested him and two friends who were present in the flat.
