In a new pre-trial analysis published today, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) document the Egyptian authorities’ perpetration of a litany of human rights violations against human rights defender, Dr Ahmad Amasha, as a result of his ongoing prosecution on spurious “terrorism” charges before the Supreme State Security Prosecution since his arrest in June 2020.
.هذا البيان الصحفي متوفر باللغة العربية أيضاً
“Dr Amasha’s ongoing prosecution epitomizes the Egyptian authorities’ systematic misuse of ‘counter-terrorism’ laws to silence human rights defenders, activists, and any real or perceived dissent,” said Saïd Benarbia, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme Director.
The serious human rights violations that have marred the pre-trial proceedings of the case against Dr Amasha and 56 others include violations of the rights to:
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- life;
- not to be subjected to enforced disappearance;
- liberty, including not to be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention; and
- a fair trial.
Additionally, ICJ and ECRF documented serious violations of Dr Amasha’s right to freedom from torture, including as a result of beatings, electrocution and hanging from the ceiling by his hands, causing one of his ribs to break.
“The authorities must immediately release Dr Amasha, drop the spurious charges against him, and guarantee his right to an effective remedy for the numerous violations of his human rights,” Benarbia added.
The ongoing criminal case is not the first that the Egyptian authorities have brought against Dr Amasha in an effort to silence him. In 2017, police officers arbitrarily arrested and detained Dr Amasha at the Nasr City checkpoint in Cairo. He spent the next two and a half years in detention. During his detention, the Egyptian authorities subjected him to electrocution and sexual assault and threatened to rape his wife and daughters in order to obtain a forced confession from him. Only after two years and seven months of arbitrary detention, and a communication from UN Special Procedure mandate-holders, did the Egyptian authorities release Dr Amasha in October 2019. However, he was then rearrested in June 2020 in connection with the ongoing case against him.
The ICJ calls on the Egyptian authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release Dr Ahmad Amasha and drop all charges against him;
- Conduct an independent and impartial investigation into his enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment;
- Ensure accountability for all officials responsible for human rights violations; and
- Reform Egypt’s counter-terrorism legislation to ensure its compliance with international human rights law and standards and prevent its abuse to silence dissent.
Download
The briefer analysis can be downloaded in English and Arabic.
Contact
Saïd Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; t: +41 22 979 3800, e: said.benarbia@icj.org
Nour Al Hajj, Communications & Advocacy Officer, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; e: nour.alhajj@icj.org
