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Egypt - Women Rights Defenders Remain Imprisoned - Court Hearing Extended till 11 October

 

Gehan Shaaban's photo.

 

Photo: Egyptian sister Yara Salam (second from left) and other women human rights defenders who were arrested and detained since 14 June during a peaceful demonstration against the infamous new draconian law protest law (Law 107 of 2013) - in a cheerful mood awaiting their trial last Saturday. Their smiles when I saw the photo made me and so many others hopeful that they will soon rejoin their colleagues in Egypt's human rights and women's rights organisations. The accusations against them were baseless in the first place.

But sadly the result of the trial dampened our hopes. Their detention was again extended, reportedly till October 11, without any justifiable legal basis. Our fear that it will be another unfair trial as shown in recent hearings of human rights activists, journalists, and other dissidents who were not afforded their basic rights in court was confirmed.

These women and male colleagues are now detained in Qanater Prison facing charges of participating in a demonstration without authorization, which allegedly endangered public security. They are also charged with damaging property, displaying force with the aim of terrorizing passersby and endangering their lives, and taking part in a gathering of more than five people with the aim of threatening "public peace" and committing crimes. The authorities have presented no evidence that they found weapons on any of the defendants or shown why they believe they were intent on violence.

Their case has generated international attention putting into spotlight the new protest law that basically tramples upon the fundamental rights to freedoms of assembly, association and expression which Egypt is obliged to uphold. The law has been condemned by the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Maina Kiai, and other leading international human rights experts.

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----- Original Message -----

From: WUNRN LISTSERVE

To: WUNRN ListServe

Sent: Monday, June 30, 2014 11:06 PM

Subject: Egypt - Shock by Continued Detention of 23, Including Women Human Rights Defenders

 

WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights

http://www.eipr.org/en/pressrelease/2014/06/30/2140

 

Women Living Under Muslim Laws

http://www.wluml.org/news/eipr-shocked-continued-detention-23-defendants-including-awarded-human-rights-defender

 

EGYPT - SHOCK BY CONTINUED DETENTION OF 23, INCLUDING WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

 

June 30, 2014 - The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights is shocked by today's decision by the Heliopolis Misdemeanor Court to keep the organization's transitional justice officer, Yara Sallam, and 22 others behind bars, while their trial on charges of breaching the draconian protest law and other accusations including damaging property and displaying force continues. The charges relate to a peaceful protest on 21 June in the neighborhood of Heliopolis, which was forcibly dispersed by security forces aided by unknown assailants in civilian dress. 

Confusion remains around the next hearing date as the Judge and the court administration left without informing lawyers and distressed relatives of his decision. Court security claimed that the next hearing will be held on 13 September – the date also reported in the state newspaper al-Ahram. However, official confirmation can only be obtained tomorrow when the courts re-open. In the meantime, families and colleagues remain in agony. 

EIPR believes that Ms. Sallam was arrested and indicted to trial on baseless charges and that the judicial authorities’ handling of the case raises strong concerns about due process and the fairness of the trial. The way detention or trials of human rights defenders, peaceful protesters and journalists have been conducted recently denies defendants the right to adequate defense and keeps families and lawyers in the dark sometimes about what is happening to their loved ones.

During today's hearing, defense lawyers asked to see and verify the validity of all the evidence presented against the defendants by the prosecution including audiovisual material of the demonstration. That request was granted by the court. However, lawyers' request for the provisional release of the defendants was rejected. In recent months, prolonged pretrial detention has afflicted protesters, activists and others suspected of dissent. The EIPR believes that today's decision amounts to a punitive measure given the lack of credible evidence linking the defendants to any violent acts, and the low risk of absconding if the defendants were released on bail.  

Four days after their arrest on 21 June, the public prosecution speedily issued an indictment order referring Ms. Sallam and 22 others to trial on charges of participating in a demonstration without authorization which allegedly endangered public order and security, damaging property and displaying force with the aim of terrorizing passersby and endangering their lives and taking part in a gathering of more than five people with the aim of threatening “public peace” and committing crimes. 

The EIPR has repeatedly called on the government to repeal or amend the protest law (Law number 107 of 2013) and other legislation severely limiting the right to freedom of assembly and in practice used to clampdown on dissent. So far, all such demands have gone unheeded. 

The seven women, child, and 15 men in the cage today were either targeted for exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly or simply were unlucky bystanders picked-up randomly in the vicinity of a dispersed protest. 

Further, the EIPR is deeply concerned that the defendants may be facing trumped-up charges of damaging property in the absence of any credible evidence and with inconsistencies in the police reports. For instance, a police report claims that a police vehicle was damaged at 9:30pm on 21 June while most defendants including Ms. Sallam had been arrested earlier. The prosecution's case accusing the defendants of violent acts rests on reports from the National Security Agency and the Criminal Investigations Department, as well as witness testimonies from police officers.  Further, no weapons or other items were seized from the defendants or presented as evidence to back-up claims that they damaged property or used force.

Since Ms. Sallam's and her co-defendants’ arrest on 21 June, procedures in this case have been characterized by a lack of transparency and respect for due process rights. Not only did the authorities prevent defendants' from contacting their lawyers or families upon arrest, they also failed to provide information about defendants’ whereabouts at one stage or the other. Today's decision to hold the hearing inside the Police Academy in the Tora Prison Complex instead of the Heliopolis Court was not communicated to lawyers, who upon unofficially discovering the change of location rushed across Cairo to make the trial. 

Further, the EIPR fears that Ms. Sallam's predicament may be linked to her human rights work given the release of her cousin without charge on the night of their arrest together at a kiosk in Heliopolis. These fears are substantiated by the fact that during initial interrogations at the Masr al-Gidida Police Station on the night of her arrest on 21 June, Ms. Sallam was repeatedly questioned on the nature of her work and the organization's management. 

The speed with which this case was referred to court, coupled with the logistical challenges facing lawyers in obtaining the case file and information about hearing dates and locations, infringes on the rights of all defendants to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of defense. The defendants were expected to appear in court on 25 June following the expiry of their four-day detention order.  They were not brought to court, and lawyers were informed that the indictment order had been issued instead. As such, before their referral to trial, the defendants were not able to challenge the lawfulness of their pretrial detention in front of an independent judicial body.

The handling of this case thus far casts doubts on whether defendants could have a fair trial with due process which mandates that all evidence for and against the defendants is examined impartially and under the same conditions. An adequate due process also requires cross examination of the prosecution’s witnesses and for the defense witnesses to be heard. If the court date of 19 September is confirmed, the defendants will have spent 10 more weeks in prison until they get their day in court and their chance to prove their innocence. 

In the meantime, Ms. Sallam and the six other women remain detained at the al-Qanater Prison, after spending three nights at different police stations. The authorities did not inform lawyers or families of any of these transfers. 

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----- Original Message -----

From: WUNRN LISTSERVE

To: WUNRN ListServe

Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 5:02 PM

Subject: Egypt - Arbitrary Arrests & Detention of Women Human Rights Defenders

 

WUNRN

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Nazra for Feminist Studies

http://nazra.org/en/2014/06/arbitrary-arrests-and-detention-women-human-rights-defenders

 

Egypt - Arbitrary Arrests & Detention of Women Human Rights Defenders

 

On 21 June 2014, nine women human rights defenders were arrested for protesting peacefully against the Protest and Public Assembly Law in Heliopolis, Cairo, after being dispersed by the police using tear gas and bird shots.

During a peaceful protest headed for the Heliopolis presidential Palace calling for the release of all detainees and imprisoned human rights defenders in Egypt, the following nine women human rights defenders were arrested along with several other human rights defenders and are being held at Heliopolis police station: Yara Sallam, Sanaa Seif, Hanan Mustafa Mohamed, Salwa Mihriz, Samar Ibrahim, Rania El-Sheikh, Nahid Sherif (known as Nahid Bebo) and Fikreya Mohamed. Moreover, prior to being arrested, unknown actors threw stones and glass at the peaceful human rights defenders, which was followed by the use of tear gas and bird shots by the police to disperse them.

The prosecution office issued an order on 22 June 2014 to extend their detention until 23 June 2014 pending further investigation. The women human rights defenders along with other defender have been charged with the following: (1) Participating in an unauthorized demonstration whose aim was to stop the implementation of the law and influence the effectiveness of the public authorities during the carrying out of their work. The possession of safeguards and tools that could cause death if they had been used as weapons; (2) Organizing a demonstration without prior notice as stipulated by the law and the participation in a demonstration that breached and threatened public security and the interests of citizens and disrupted transportation and transgressed public and private property; (3) The possession of incendiary materials and fireworks during the participation in the demonstration; (4) The use of force and violence to terrorize and intimidate citizens; (5) The deliberate destruction of public property; (6) The deliberate destruction of property owned by the aggrieved party as proven through investigations; (7) The possession of fireworks without a license; (8) The possession of tools used to assault persons without a legal justification.

Egyptian human rights defenders have been facing mounting acts of intimidation and judicial harassment in the recent months, arbitrary arrest, harsh sentences and imprisonment. The aforementioned women human rights defenders along with other human rights defenders are only a few of several Egyptian human rights defenders who have been targeted through the Protest and Public Assembly Law (Law no 107 of 2013 on the Right to Public Meetings, Processions and Peaceful Demonstrations). On 22 May 2014, the Sidi Gaber Misdemeanor Court in Alexandria upheld the sentence of prominent women human rights defender Mahienour El-Massry and several human rights defenders and detained her on charges of unauthorized protest and attacking police officers during the Khaled Said murder retrial on 2 December 2014. The next hearing for this case has been scheduled for the 28 June 2014.

Moreover, El-Massry is also facing trial on separate charges for an incident that occurred in March 2013. On 16 July 2014, the aforementioned second case was adjourned to 21 July 2014. In the second case, El-Massry is charged with allegedly “assaulting security forces”, after she and a group of lawyers went to Raml police station to provide legal assistance to activists who had been arrested and handed in to the police by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Nazra for Feminist Studies condemns the arrest and detention of the aforementioned women human rights defenders and believes that it is directly related to their legitimate activities in the defense of human rights.

Nazra for Feminist Studies calls on the Egyptian authorities to: 

1. Drop all charges directed at the women human rights defenders and effectuate their immediate and unconditional release;

2. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all the aforementioned women human rights defenders;

3. Cease the harassment and persecution of human rights defenders and ensure that all human rights defenders in Egypt are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities free from persecution, arbitrary arrest, judicial harassment and physical violence;

4. Ensure that the Protest and Public Assembly Law is revised to be fully compliant with relevant international standards and the newly passed Egyptian constitution;

5. Guarantee the right of women human rights defenders to engage in human rights work and take measures to ensure their protection before the law and in society;

6. Quash the convictions of other human rights defenders that are based on a Protest and Public Assembly Law and drop all charges stemming from the legitimate exercise of the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. 

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