WUNRN
EGYPT - POLITICAL PROTESTS CONTINUE
- WOMEN - NGO WORKERS IMPRISONED
PHOTO: Egyptian protesters shout slogans at a protest in
Egyptian protesters shout slogans at a protest in
Amr Nabil/AP Photo
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Egyptian Center for Women's Rights
20 EGYPTIAN ORGANIZATIONS IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE NGO WORKERS SENTENCED TO PRISON. POLITICALLY MOTIVATED CASE A FATAL BLOW TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION & ASSOCIATION
The undersigned
Egyptian rights organizations condemn in the strongest terms the verdict issued
on June 4 by the Cairo Criminal Court which convicted 43 staff members of
international NGOs in the so-called “foreign funding case.” The defendants, who
include nationals from Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, the US, Germany, Serbia, and
Norway, received prison terms ranging from one to five years and were each
fined LE1,000.
The undersigned
organizations assert that this unjust ruling represents a fatal blow to the
objectives of the revolution and democratization and further entrenches the
pillars of the new system of authoritarian rule, which is exhibiting
unremitting hostility to civil society. Inspired by the former regime, the
current authorities have excluded civil society, harassed human rights defenders
and democracy activists, criminalized their activities, and used the media to
defame civic organizations and promote views hostile to the universal values of
human rights. The current authorities have further deployed the security
apparatus to block civic initiatives, denied victims of abuses of their rights
and legal support, and dragged the judiciary into their deceitful battle
against civil society.
Throughout the last
year since coming to power the regime of President Mohamed Morsi has revealed
its unrelenting political agenda to sideline civil society – and to undermine
organizations which defend human rights in particular – instead of allowing
civil society space to play its essential role in supporting democratization.
In fact, President Morsi’s policies in many areas demonstrate that
democratization is not a goal for the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and its Freedom
and Justice Party (FJP). This has been made crystal clear in the successive
draft laws submitted by the MB, the FJP, and the presidency to organize the
judiciary and govern civil society, as well as those hinted at by the MB which
would restrict media freedoms.
The “foreign funding
case” began in July 2011, when the prime minister formed a fact-finding
committee to investigate what was called “the foreign funding that had entered
Egypt following the January 25 Revolution.” This was accompanied by a concerted
smear campaign against Egyptian and international civil society groups,
accusing them of acting as agents for foreign powers, threatening national
security, and implementing foreign agendas to create chaos – tactics taken
directly from Mubarak-era policies. In fact, the smear campaign against civil
society was headed by officials and ministers from the Mubarak regime who had
remained in their positions after the revolution, in an attempt to seek revenge
against rights organizations which had played an essential role in preparing
the way for the revolution.
In a move
unprecedented in Egypt’s recent history, police and army forces raided 17 offices
of ten organizations, among them Egyptian organizations, in late 2011, after
which 43 staff members were referred to the Cairo Criminal Court on charges of
establishing and administering branches of foreign organizations and receiving
foreign funding.
On February 15, 2012,
31 rights organizations issued a statement condemning the investigations into
this case, which relied on intelligence gathered by Mubarak’s State Security
agency. A review of the resumes of the judges who carried out the investigations
may help explain the court’s verdict, which was based on the report they
prepared. Both judges had served as long-time chief prosecutors in the Supreme
State Security Prosecution, which was the subject of widespread criticism and
whose abolition had been called for by advocates of judicial independence,
advocacy groups, and various political and social forces fighting for democracy
prior to the revolution. The State Security Prosecution had been involved in
fabricating charges against opponents of the Mubarak regime, aided in covering
up acts of torture committed by State Security Investigations against political
detainees, and functioned as a tool used in collaboration with State Security
by the Mubarak regime to seek revenge against its political opponents.
During the period in
which investigations were being carried out, these two judges violated a number
of the most essential legal principles governing the work of the judiciary –
considered by the Supreme Judicial Council to be among the crimes warranting
the punishment of the judge responsible – by “trying” the suspects and others
who had not been charged via the media over the course of several months,
setting another dangerous new precedent. However, the Supreme Judicial Council,
which was headed at the time by Hossam al-Ghariani (who later became the head
of the Constituent Assembly), took no measures in response to these acts by the
investigating judges, even after legal complaints were filed regarding the
matter.
From the very
beginning (summer and fall 2011), the “foreign funding case” saw blatant
interference by the executive in the court’s work, beginning with the manner in
which the two investigative judges were appointed and including the pressure
exerted on the judiciary to lift the travel ban on foreign staff of the
involved organizations. It should be noted that some of the organizations whose
staff members were given severe sentences for promoting democracy had operated
in Egypt since 2005, cooperating consistently and publicly with the Egyptian
government and with the full knowledge of the security apparatus. These
organizations had tried repeatedly to register officially and had failed due to
bureaucratic security procedures – the Egyptian Foreign Ministry did not reject
their applications for permits, yet it also did not grant acknowledgement of
receipt of their applications, placing these organizations in a precarious
position indefinitely. The Egyptian government had sent official letters to a
number of these organizations – even during the period during which
investigations were being carried out and the smear campaign in the media was
ongoing – inviting them to monitor the parliamentary elections which were held
during the last three months of 2011.
The undersigned
organizations assert that this unfair ruling comes in the context of attempts
by the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated government and parliament to suppress
civil society and curb its activities by judicial and legislative means. For
example, the deputy justice minister for legislative matters and the head of
the fact-finding committee on foreign funding stated before the Shura Council
on March 24, 2013 that investigations into the “foreign funding case” had ended
with the referral of 43 defendants to the criminal court. He added that
investigations of Egyptian organizations were still underway, which means that
we can expect a second round of attacks on civil society groups, including the
summoning of their directors and staff members for questioning and possibly
being referred to trial.
Moreover, on the same
day that the verdict was issued by the Criminal Court in Cairo, the Committee
for Human Resources Development and Local Governance in the Shura Council began
debating the draft NGO law submitted by the president on Wednesday, May 29. The
bill has been severely criticized by Egyptian and international organizations
as well as by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The new bill, which is
currently being discussed in the Shura Council, blatantly contravenes both
international standards for the freedom of association and the Egyptian
constitution. It would impose severe restrictions on activities of Egyptian
NGOs, registration, and the operation of foreign NGOs and place civic
associations under the control of various security agencies, which would be
represented on the steering committee to be established by the law. This bill
would make the situation of foreign NGOs even more difficult than under the
Mubarak regime. This proposed bill and the recent judicial ruling are essentially
two expressions of the same process of undermining civil society in Egypt.
The undersigned
organizations declare their solidarity with the staff of the foreign NGOs who
were convicted in a politically motivated case that exploited repressive legal
statutes and implicated the judiciary. We will continue to stand up to all
attempts to restrict the right to association with draconian laws that do not
comply with international standards.
Finally, we note that
the current authorities still have the opportunity to renounce their aspiration
to restrict the activities of organizations advocating democracy and human
rights by withdrawing its repressive NGO bill and using the powers granted to
the president by Article 149 of the constitution – which have been used more
than once to grant amnesties for detainees and prisoners affiliated with armed
Islamist movements – to issue a pardon for the democracy advocates and human
rights defenders convicted in this clearly political case.
Signatories:
1.
Andalus
Institute for Tolerance & Anti-violence Studies (AITAS).
2.
Arab
Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI).
3.
Arab
organization for human rights.
4.
Arab
Penal Reform Organization.
5.
Association
for Freedom of Thought and Expression.
6.
Center
for Appropriate Communication Techniques (ACT).
7.
Center
for Egyptian Women’s Legal Aid.
8.
Cairo
Institute for human rights studies (CIHRS).
9.
Egyptian
Center for Economic and Social Rights.
10.
Egyptian
Foundation for the Advancement of Childhood Conditions.
11.
Egyptian
Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).
12.
Egyptian
women’s union.
13.
Habi
Center for Environmental Rights.
14.
Hisham
Mubarak Law Center.
15.
Human
Right association for the Assistance of Prisoners.
16.
Masriyon
Against Religious Discrimination.
17.
Nazra
for Feminist Studies.
18.
New
Woman Foundation.
19.
The
Egyptian Association For Community Participation Enhancement.
20.
The
Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights.