EGY 003 / 0518 / OBS 069.2
Arbitrary
arrest /
Judicial harassment
Egypt
June 18, 2019
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has
received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following
situation in Egypt.
New information:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the re-arrest,
incommunicado detention, and continuing judicial harassment of Mr. Haytham
Mohamadein, labour rights lawyer at the Egyptian Commission
for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) and a
member of El-Nadim Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and
Torture, an Egyptian NGO dedicated to combating torture and providing medical
and legal aid in support of victims of human rights’ abuses.
According to the information received, on May
12, 2019, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was summoned to El-Saff police station in Giza
in relation to the probationary measures issued against him in case No. 718 of 2018 for which he was charged with "aiding a
terrorist organisation to achieve its goals" and "calling for illegal
protests" on May 19, 2018 (see background information). After presenting
himself at the police station, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein went missing. After
initially denying it, on May 13, 2019, El-Saff police officers finally
recognised his detention at the police station but denied his lawyer and family
their rights to visit and contact him until May 16.
On May 14, 2019, El-Saff police officers
submitted a report to the prosecution on Mr. Haytham Mohamadein’s alleged lack
of compliance with his probationary measures. Neither Mr. Mohamadein nor his
lawyer were given the opportunity to read or answer the report. The office of
the Prosecutor did not take any decision on the case and returned the report to
the police station, and police officers submitted it again on May 15, 2019.
On May 16, 2019, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was
brought before the State Security Prosecution, in relation to case No. 741 of
2019, on allegations of "aiding a terrorist organisation to achieve its
goals" and “misuse of social media”. On the same day, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was
transferred to Giza central prison, a Central Security Forces Camp on the
Cairo-Alexandria desert road, where he remains detained. Members of first
degree of his family can visit him once a week.
On May 28 and June 13, 2019 the State Security
Prosecution renewed Mr. Haytham Mohamadein’s pre-trial detention in case No.
741.
The Observatory recalls that Mr. Haytham
Mohamadein was arrested on May 18, 2018 and released on probation pending trial
on October 29, 2018 (see background information). Since his release, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein had to present himself twice a week
to El-Saff police station, for two hours at night.
The Observatory strongly condemns the ongoing judicial harassment and arbitrary arrest of
Mr. Haytham Mohamadein, which seems to be only aimed at punishing him for his
legitimate human rights activities.
The
Observatory further recalls that shortly after Mr. Haytham Mohamadein’s arrest, Mr. Ibrahim Ezz El-Din, another ECRF
member, was arrested[1].
The Observatory denounces a wider trend of harassment and arbitrary
detentions against human rights defenders in Egypt and urges the
Egyptian authorities to put an end to all forms of harassment, including at the
judicial level, against Mr. Haytham Mohamadein and to ensure that human
rights defenders in Egypt are able to carry out their legitimate and peaceful
human rights work without fear of hindrance or reprisals.
Background information:
On May 18, 2018,
members of the police and National Security Agency arrested Mr. Haytham
Mohamadein in his home in El-Saff in Giza Governorate. No warrant was presented
to him. Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was then detained in an unknown location
until he appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in New Cairo’s
Tagammu El-Khamis District on May 19, 2018. On this day, the prosecutor ordered
a 15-day detention period pending an investigation on charges of "aiding a
terrorist organisation to achieve its goals" and "calling for illegal
protests". These charges stem from the Prosecution’s allegations of
Mr. Haytham Mohamadein’s participation in protests over the rise in metro
fares on May 12, 2018, although Mr. Haytham Mohamadein has always denied
taking part in the protests.
On May 19, 2018,
Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was transferred to the Central Security Forces Camp
"Kilo 10.5", which is located on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road.
Beginning of June 2018,
Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was transferred to Qanater prison, after the first
extension of his pre-trial detention by the prosecution.
On October 8, 2018, Giza Criminal
Court, circuit 14, decided to release Mr. Haytham Mohamadein on probation
pending trial. This decision was appealed on the same day by the Supreme State
Security Prosecution. On October 10, 2018, the Court rejected the prosecution’s
appeal and confirmed the order to release Mr. Haytham Mohamadein on probation.
Between October 10 and October 29, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was transferred
between different detention places and his family and lawyers were sometimes
unable to reach him, until he was finally released in El-Saff police station,
near his home in the suburbs of Giza, on October 29, 2018.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Egypt asking them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological well-being
of Mr. Haytham Mohamadein and of all human rights defenders in Egypt;
ii.
Release immediately
and unconditionally Mr. Haytham Mohamadein and all
human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in Egypt as their detention is
arbitrary since it only seems to aim at punishing them for their human rights
activities;
iii.
Guarantee
the unhindered access of Mr. Haytham
Mohamadein to
a lawyer of his choice and his family members;
iv. Put an end to all forms of
harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Haytham Mohamadein and
all human rights defenders in the country, and ensure in all circumstances that
they are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance or
fear of reprisals;
v. Conform to the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,
adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in
particular with Articles 1, and 12.2;
vi. Ensure in all
circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance
with international human rights standards and international instruments to
which Egypt is a state party.
Addresses:
·
President of the Arab Republic of Egypt,
H.E. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Fax: +202 2391 1441. Email: p.spokesman@op.gov.eg, Twitter: @AlsisiOfficial
·
Prime Minister, Mr. Mustafa Kemal Madbouly
Mohamed. Email: pm@cabinet.gov.eg
·
Minister of the Interior, Mr. Mahmoud Tawfik,
Email: center@iscmi.gov.eg
·
Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohamed Hossam
Abdel-Rahim, Fax: +202 2795 8103
·
Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Nabeel Sadek, Fax: +202
2577 4716
·
Head of the Egyptian parliament’s Human Rights
Committee, Mr. Alaa Abed, Email: humanrightscomplaints@parliament.gov.eg
·
Mr. Mohamed Fayeq, President of the National
Council for Human Rights, Fax: + 202 25747497 / 25747670. Email: nchr@nchr.org.eg
·
H.E. Mr. Alaa Youssef, Ambassador, Permanent
Mission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Email: mission.egypt@bluewin.ch
·
Embassy of Egypt in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 675.58.88;
Email: embassy.egypt@skynet.be
Please
also write to the diplomatic representations of Egypt in your respective
countries.
***
Paris-Geneva, June 18, 2019
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting
the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by
FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this
programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights
defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by
international civil society.
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