Egypt/Tunisia: Cease Attacks Against Lawyers 

Jan 24, 2025 | Advocacy, News

Today, on the Day of the Endangered Lawyer, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) once again condemns Egypt’s and Tunisia’s resort to “fake news” and “counter-terrorism” laws to arbitrarily arrest, detain and prosecute lawyers solely for the discharge of their professional duties and for the legitimate exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and association.

To mark the day, the ICJ highlights several concerning cases of attacks against lawyers in Egypt and Tunisia that took place in 2024, which reflect the serious nature of the human rights violations lawyers have been subjected to in both countries as a result of their work.

Egypt

Retaliation for Cooperation with UN Special Procedures Mandate-Holders
On 20 March 2024, five UN Special Procedures mandate-holders issued a communication to the Egyptian authorities expressing concern that two lawyers, Mohamed Abdelmajeed and Mohamed Issa Rajeh, were being prosecuted ostensibly for their documentation of human rights violations and communicating them to international human rights organisations and UN human rights mechanisms. In June 2023, the Egyptian authorities informed both lawyers that they had been charged in connection with Supreme State Security Case No. 1233/2023 on accusations of “joining and funding a terrorist group by providing that group with information about political detainees in Egypt”. However, to date, neither of the accused has been made privy to the official charges against them, nor have their lawyers been able to access the charge sheet. 

Additionally, on 11 November 2024, the Supreme State Security Prosecution referred lawyer and founder of the League for Families of the Forcibly Disappeared, Ibrahim Moutawali, for trial on spurious “terrorism” and “fake news” charges for his communications with UN human rights mechanisms regarding the prevalence of enforced disappearance in Egypt. The Egyptian authorities first arrested and detained Moutawali in September 2017, as he was about to travel to Geneva to meet the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. While the Supreme State Security Court ordered the release of Moutawali in October 2019, following the issuance of an opinion by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on his case, the Egyptian authorities failed to release Moutawali and, instead, “rotated” him into the current case for which he has been referred for trial on identical charges and facts. Moutawali has since been detained in pre-trial detention in breach of the maximum periods of pre-trial detention permitted under Article 143 of the Egyptian Criminal Procedure Code. 

Ahmad Nazir al-Helo
On 4 December 2024, the First Circuit (Terrorism) Criminal Court in Cairo referred lawyer Ahmad Nazir al-Helo for trial in connection with spurious “terrorism” and “fake news” charges related to his work representing victims of enforced disappearances.  

Since his arrest on 7 November 2022, the Egyptian authorities have subjected al-Helo to a one-week period of enforced disappearance and prolonged arbitrary pre-trial detention, the latter exceeding the two-year maximum period of pre-trial detention permitted under Article 143 of the Criminal Procedure Code. While detained, al-Helo has suffered from severe medical conditions, including paralysis, which the authorities have thus far ignored despite repeated official requests his wife submitted to the Egyptian prison administration. 

Hoda Abdelmoneim
On 17 November 2024, the authorities brought further spurious “terrorism” charges against lawyer and former head of Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights, Hoda Abdelmoneim. The latest case is the third against Abdelmoneim on identical charges and facts since her initial arrest in 2018. The Egyptian authorities initiated the new case on the same day when Abdelmoneim was due to be released after serving a five-year prison sentence on identical charges, thus ensuring that her six-year period in arbitrary detention was extended. Reports suggest that since her initial detention, Abdelmoneim’s health has deteriorated significantly, causing her to suffer a heart attack, a blood clot, and loss of kidney function. 

Tunisia

Case No. 6835/36: One of the Tunisian “Conspiracy Cases”
On 2 May 2024, the Indictment Chamber of the Tunis Court of Appeal referred for trial lawyers Noureddine Bhiri, Bochra Belhaj Hamida, Ridha Belhaj, Ghazi Chaouachi, Ayachi Hammami and Lazhar Akremi, along with 46 other accused, on spurious charges of, inter alia, “conspiracy against the internal and external security of the State”, under the Penal Code and “Counter-Terrorism” Law. Prior to their indictment, Belhaj, Chaouachi, Hammami and Akremi had represented suspects in the very same case, including prominent political opponents of President Kaïs Saïed. As of January 2025, the Tunisian authorities have arbitrarily detained Belhaj and Chaouachi in pre-trial detention for nearly two years despite a clear lack of evidence of their guilt.  

Relatedly, on 25 June 2024, the Tunis Court of Appeal overturned the Tunis Court of First Instance’s decision to acquit lawyer Abdelaziz Essid of “fake news” charges under Decree-Law 2022-54. At the time, Essid had been acting as legal counsel for a number of the accused in Case 6835/36 and, in fact, the “fake news” charges against him were brought further to statements he had made during a press conference in which he highlighted a number of discrepancies in the dates and facts of the case. During the hearing on 25 June, the Tunis Court of Appeal overturned his acquittal and convicted Essid, sentencing him to a nine-month suspended prison sentence. 

The case against Essid constitutes the latest in a pattern of arbitrary prosecutions of lawyers representing clients in Case 6835/36 on “fake news” charges. In 2023, the Tunisian authorities prosecuted lawyers Dalila Msaddek and Islem Hamza for statements they had made in their professional capacity in the context of the case, in which they had raised the Tunisian authorities’ mishandling of the prosecution. 

Sonia Dahmani
On 11 May 2024, the Tunisian police conducted a raid on the Tunisian Bar Association premises to arrest lawyer and columnist Sonia Dahmani, in which they apparently used unnecessary force. The authorities subsequently detained Dahmani in pre-trial detention on “fake news” charges for comments that she had made in response to the executive’s crackdown on black African refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants. On 11 September 2024, the Tunis Court of Appeal convicted Dahmani of the charges and sentenced her to eight months’ imprisonment.

Then, on 24 October 2024, the Tunis Court of First Instance convicted Dahmani of further “fake news” charges for comments that she made in 2023 regarding the prevalence of racism in Tunisia. The Court sentenced Dahmani to a further two years’ imprisonment.

Mehdi Zagrouba
On 13 May 2024, the Tunisian authorities conducted a further raid on the Tunisian Bar Association premises and arrested lawyer Mehdi Zagrouba on accusations of “contempt against a public official”. Earlier that day, Zagrouba had attended a demonstration to condemn the arbitrary arrest and detention of lawyer Sonia Dahmani, during which the authorities claimed Zagrouba assaulted a police officer.  

On 15 May 2024, Zagrouba appeared before an investigating judge at the Tunis Court of First Instance, where he reportedly showed physical signs of torture. According to his lawyers, Zagrouba stated that he had been physically assaulted while in custody. Reportedly, the investigating judge requested an immediate medical examination, which, however, was not carried out, purportedly for security reasons. His lawyers stated that, despite Zagrouba’s physical collapse in court, and even though he was unconscious at the time, the investigating judge remanded him in pre-trial detention. In the aftermath of the hearing, he was transferred to the hospital for treatment. 

On 11 July 2024, the Tunisian authorities released Zagrouba, pending further investigation into his case. To date, the Tunisian authorities have failed to investigate the allegations of torture against Zagrouba.   

Recommendations
The ICJ considers that Egypt’s and Tunisia’s abuse of criminal proceedings to harass and obstruct the work of lawyers constitutes a direct assault on the independence of the legal profession. The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and the African Commission on Human Peoples’ Rights’ Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial in Africa state that governments shall ensure that lawyers are able “to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.” Additionally, lawyers, like any other person, enjoy the rights to freedom of expression and association, as protected under human rights treaties by which Egypt and Tunisia are bound. 

In light of the above, the ICJ calls on Egypt and Tunisia to:

    1. Immediately and unconditionally release all lawyers who are detained pending trial or imprisoned upon being convicted solely on the basis of the peaceful exercise of their human rights or the legitimate discharge of their professional duties;  
    2. End all attacks against lawyers, including abusive prosecutions, including on “terrorism” and “fake news” charges, arbitrary detention, physical assault, torture and other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance;  
    3. Guarantee that lawyers are able to carry out their legitimate professional duties without hindrance, harassment or improper interference, and that they are not threatened with prosecution, reprisals or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with such duties;  
    4. Ensure that Bar Associations are independent in law and practice, and are able to exercise their functions without external interference;   
    5. Guarantee that lawyers are not associated with their clients or their clients’ cause solely as a result of legitimately discharging their professional duties and that legal representation is under no circumstances considered to be akin to providing aid or material support to “terrorist groups”;    
    6. Ensure that those who have been subjected to arbitrary detention, torture or other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance have access to justice and effective remedies and reparation, including restitution, rehabilitation, compensation and satisfaction; and 
    7. Ensure that the legitimate and peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and association is not criminalized.
       

Contact
Saïd Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; t: +41 22 979 3800, e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Nour Al Hajj, Communications & Advocacy Officer, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; e: nour.alhajj(a)icj.org

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