International Commission of Jurists
Egypt: authorities must end actions against independent judges

Egypt: authorities must end actions against independent judges

Apr 14, 2015 | News

The ICJ is deeply concerned over the decision of the High Judicial Council and the President of the Cairo Court of Appeal to investigate two judges with a view to referring them to the disciplinary Council.

Media reports have indicated that Assem Abdel Jabar, deputy president of the Cassation Court, and Hicham Raouf, a judge in Cairo’s Appeal Court, are being investigated over their individual participation, together with other leading lawyers and legal experts, in a workshop organized by an Egyptian organization, United Group, to discuss and propose new legislation on the prevention of torture.

According to information available to the ICJ, the two judges have so far not been formally notified of any charges against them and have received no information about the allegations on which they are based.

The actions against these judges continue a pattern of intimidation and attempted silencing of judges who are seen by authorities as not aligning themselves with government objectives.

The apparent investigation is only the latest in a string of cases where judges have been subject to arbitrary disciplinary proceedings for legitimately exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

On 14 March 2015, the Disciplinary Council forced 31 judges into retirement for signing a statement, on 24 July 2013, which criticized the “attack on the constitutional legitimacy and the ouster of the legitimate president that was elected”.

The disciplinary proceedings against these judges were marred with violations of due process rights.

The judges were not adequately informed of the date and location of the hearings, defence witnesses were not called and requests by the judges that the hearings be public were disregarded.

On 4 April 2015, a disciplinary hearing took place against Zakaria Abdelaziz, former president of Egypt’s Judges Club and one of the leading advocates for judicial independence in Egypt.

The charges alleged “involvement in politics” and “breaking into the State Security Building during a demonstration on 5 March 2011”.

According to information available to the ICJ, the case files were not made available to Zakaria Abdeaziz until the first hearing despite repeated requests to obtain them.

Under international human rights law and standards, judges are guaranteed the right to freedom of belief, association, assembly and expression, including by commenting on matters of public concern and matters pertaining to the rule of law and human rights situation in a country.

“Instead of subjecting judges to arbitrary proceedings for lawfully exercising their rights, the Egyptian authorities should stop its sustained campaign to muzzle judges who are seen as not friendly to the authorities,“ said Said Benarbia, Director of the ICJ MENA programme. “The Egyptian authorities must reinstate all judges who were removed from office solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly and drop all charges against those currently subject to disciplinary proceedings for charges stemming from the exercise of these rights.”

Contact:

Alice Goodenough, Legal Adviser of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +44 7815 570 834, e-mail: alice.goodenough(a)icj.org

Nader Diab, Associate Legal Adviser of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41 229 793 804, e-mail: nader.diab(a)icj.org

Egypt-Judges harassed-News-web story-2015-ARA (full text in PDF)

 

Egypt: judiciary must reject mass death-penalty trials

Egypt: judiciary must reject mass death-penalty trials

Feb 3, 2015 | News

The ICJ condemns yesterday’s decision of the Giza Felonies Court to confirm the death sentences of 183 individuals that had been simultaneously imposed in one mass trial.

The charges include murder, mutilation and attempted murder and relate to an attack on a police station in Kerdasa that took place in August 2013.

According to the ICJ, the trial has involved a litany of violations of fair trial rights, including denying many of the accused the right to legal counsel, denying the right to a public hearing, refusing to allow defence witnesses to testify, prohibiting the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses by defence counsel, and failing to produce credible evidence as to the individual guilt of each accused.

“Once again, Egypt’s judiciary has abdicated its fundamental responsibility to uphold the rule of law and human rights, instead resorting to unfair mass trials and death sentences as a technique to suppress dissent and to crack down on critics of the military and Government,” said Said Benarbia, Director of the ICJ MENA Programme.

“Egypt’s judiciary must act independently, impartially, with integrity and as a check against the Executive’s arbitrary powers and policies, not as a tool to implement them,” he added.

The imposition of death sentences following unfair mass trials constitutes a gross violation of Egypt’s obligations under international human rights law, including those relating to the right to life, the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and fair trial rights.

The ICJ opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances as a violation of the right to life and a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

The UN General Assembly has repeatedly, by a large majority, called for a moratorium on its use.

Even those states that retain the death penalty have acknowledged that any imposition of the death penalty through a process that fails to meet the most stringent fair trial standards, inherently violates the right to life.

Contact:

Said Benarbia, ICJ Director of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: 41 22 979 38 17, e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org

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