WUNRN
Egypt – A Year Has Passed Since the Arrest of Women Activists in
Peaceful Demonstration
WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD CALL TO FREE YARA SALLAM & OTHER WOMEN ACTIVIST PRISONERS IN EGYPT.
Indeed, these days in many countries the authorities are precisely targeting and intimidating human rights defenders, and very often WOMEN, to silence dissent and to reign in critical voices. Laws are being passed, and regulations are being introduced, to make activists’ operations more difficult.
EGYPT - WOMEN ACTIVISTS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST
PROTEST LAW
Dozens of female activists gathered outside Ittihadeya
June 22, 2015 - A group of female
activists held a protest outside Ittihadiya Presidential Palace on Sunday to
call for the release of the hundreds of prisoners detained under Egypt’s
controversial anti-protest law. Several well-known activists, including
Yara Sallam, Sanaa Seif and Mona Seif, attended the demonstration. Alaa Abdel
Fattah – the brother of Mona and Sanaa Seif – was sentenced to
five years in prison under the law earlier this year. The
protest marks exactly one year since a similar demonstration took place, after
which more than 20 people were charged with defying the anti-protest law – two
of those arrested were Yara Sallam and Sanaa Seif, who were both sentenced to
two years in prison. The controversial legislation was signed in by
interim President Adly Mansour in November 2013. It requires protestors seek
seven separate permissions to hold street demonstrations, and bans overnight
sit-ins as exemplified by the 2011 Tahrir Square protests. Public gatherings of
more than 10 people without prior government approval are also prohibited under
the law, and the police have the final say on whether a protest can take
place…..
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Egypt – Ms. Yara Sallam & 23 Other Protesters Sentenced to 2 Years Prison in Appeal
December 24, 2014 - The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources
about the continued arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Ms. Yara
Sallam, Transitional Justice Officer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal
Rights (EIPR), as well as 23 protesters including Ms. Sanaa Seif, a member of
the “No to Military Trials for Civilians” movement and sister of blogger Alaa
Abdel Fattah .
According to the information received, on December 28, 2014, the Heliopolis
Appeal Misdemeanour Court reduced the sentence against Ms. Yara Sallam, Ms.
Sanaa Seif and 22 other protesters to two years’ imprisonment, and two years’
police surveillance. They had been sentenced in first instance on October 26 to
three years in prison, to an additional three years of police surveillance, to
a 10,000 EGP fine (1,000 euros), and to repayment for property damages they
allegedly caused, in relation to their alleged participation in a protest on
June 21, 2014 (see background information).
The Observatory strongly condemns the sentencing of Ms. Yara Sallam, Ms.
Sanaa Seif and the 22 other protesters, and considers that they are targeted
solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly, and
that their detention and sentencing only aim to sanction their legitimate human
rights activities. The Observatory calls on the authorities to drop all charges
held against them, and immediately and unconditionally release them.
The Observatory is further concerned by the handling of the case by the
judicial authorities and the numerous breaches to the right to fair trial as
well as the lack of evidence against the defendants.
The Observatory recalls that the restrictive protest law has been used by
the authorities as a tool to imprison human rights defenders. This controversial
law bans gatherings of 10 or more people without a permit issued by the
authorities.
Background information:
On June 21, 2014, the police dispersed by using tear gas a peaceful march
that was organised in the Heliopolis neighbourhood in Cairo to demand the
repeal of the Law 107 of 2013 on demonstrations and public rallies (the
“Anti-Protest Law”) as well as the release of those detained under said law. In
this framework, the police arrested more than 30 individuals, including Ms.
Yara Sallam and her cousin Shehab Fakhry Ismail. It should be highlighted that
the two were picked up in the vicinity of the protest between 7 and 8 pm by
security forces as they were buying drinks from a local kiosk and not while
participating in any demonstration.
Some of the detainees reported insults and ill-treatment, including
beatings by “muwatinin shurafa” (plain-clothed police collaborators) during and
after the arrest. Those arrested were questioned without the presence of their
lawyers, mostly individually, by men in civilian dress who did not introduce
themselves or clarify their official positions. The arrestees were asked whether
they participated in the protest and were questioned about their political
affiliations and opinions about the protest law. According to testimonies,
officials pressured them into confessing their participation and threatened to
charge them with belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood and/or the 6th of
April Movement. Later the same day, eight of the arrestees were released
without charges, including Ms. Sallam’s cousin. On June 22, 2014, 24 were
presented before the Prosecutor’s office.
During her interrogation, Ms. Sallam was questioned about the nature of her
work and about EIPR’s management.
On June 23, 2014, the Heliopolis Prosecution Office ordered the detention
until June 25, 2014 of Ms. Yara Sallam, Ms. Sanaa Seif as well as 21 other
individuals on charges of “breaching the protest law” under the “Anti-Protest
Law”, “sabotaging public properties”, “possession of inflammable materials” and
“taking part in showing off force with the objective of terrorising the public”
for their alleged participation in a peaceful march. Another individual was
released on medical grounds .
On June 24, 2014, the two women human rights defenders as well as five
women protesters were transferred to Qanatir Prison, 15 male detainees to Tora
Prison, and one juvenile to Al-Marg juvenile prison. This followed the
extension by the prosecution of the detention of these 23 individuals on June
23, 2014 for four days, as well as the release on bail of another one on the
same day.
On June 25, 2014, the Heliopolis Public Prosecution transferred the case to
the Heliopolis Misdemeanor Court. It mentioned 12 provisions in the indictment
order: articles 162, 361, 375 (bis), 375 (bisA) of the Penal Code, articles 1
to 4 of Law 10 of 1914 on Gatherings; and articles 7, 8, 19, 21 of Law No. 107
of 2013 on demonstrations and public rallies. These provisions include:
“participating in an unauthorised 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”; “organising a demonstration
without prior notice as stipulated by the law and participating in a
demonstration that breached and threatened public security and the interests of
citizens and disrupted transportation and transgressed public and private
property”; “using force and violence to terrorise and intimidate citizens”; and
“deliberately destructing property owned by the aggrieved party as proven
through investigations”.
The 23 defendants in detention were supposed to appear before the court on
June 25 after the expiry of their four-day detention. However, the defendants
were not brought to court, and the Prosecution instead issued an indictment
order, before the defendants had a chance to challenge their pre-trial
detention before an independent judicial body.
On June 29, 2014, the trial against Ms. Yara Sallam and Ms. Sana Seif,
together with 21 other individuals who had peacefully protested for the repeal
of Law No.107 for 2013 on demonstrations and public rallies, started.
Though the session was due to take place at the Heliopolis Courthouse, at
the time set for the start of the session lawyers and family members were
informally told that the hearing of the case would transferred to the Police
Academy inside the high security Tora Prison. They had to rush across the city
to attend the trial. Access to the courtroom was heavily restricted: families
of the detainees were denied access and defence lawyers and journalists faced
difficulties to access the room. One journalist who tried to take a photograph
had his equipment confiscated and was removed from the courtroom.
During the hearing, the defence lawyers requested to examine and verify the
validity of the evidence presented against the defendants by the prosecution
including audio-visual material on the demonstration. The court granted this
request, however the request for provisional release of the defendants on bail
was rejected by the court.
The judge closed the hearing session and left the courtroom without
informing the lawyers about the date of the next hearing. The Court’s security
guards then told the lawyers that the next hearing was scheduled on September
13, 2014.
On September 13, 2014, the trial against Ms. Yara Sallam and Ms. Sana Seif,
together with 21 other individuals who had allegedly peacefully protested for
the repeal of Law No.107 for 2013 on demonstrations and public rallies, was
postponed to October 11, by a Heliopolis Misdemeanour court . The hearing was
held in the deliberation chambers. Two videos were shown, based on the request
of the defendants’ lawyers. The judge tried to identify defendants in the
videos shown, however none of the defendants appeared in the videos. In
addition, no weapon appeared on the video. The prosecution also submitted a
report on a video that was not shown during the hearing. The defendants’
lawyers requested that this video be shown accompanied by an expert report.
According to EIPR, a police report claims that a police vehicle was damaged at
9:30pm on June 21, 2014 while most defendants had been arrested earlier.
Furthermore, no weapons or other items were seized from the defendants or
presented as evidence. All the defendants remained in custody pending trial
despite the defence’s request to release them. The session was once again held
in private as only the defendants’ lawyers were allowed to attend.
See Website Link for Actions Requested - https://www.fidh.org/International-Federation-for-Human-Rights/north-africa-middle-east/egypt/16717-egypt-ms-yara-sallam-and-other-protesters-sentenced-to-two-years-in-appeal