Sep 29, 2020
The ICJ and six other international non-governmental organisations call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release human rights defenders Mohamed El-Baqer and Alaa Abdel Fattah, who were arbitrarily arrested and detained a year ago today.
In the context of a massive crackdown on Egyptian civil society, the ongoing arbitrary detention of Mohamed El-Baqer and Alaa Abdel Fattah, and the continuous renewal of their pre-trial detention is paradigmatic of the systematic repression, acts of intimidation and prosecution used against human rights defenders and all dissenting voices in the country.
On September 29, 2019, Mohamed El-Baqer, human rights lawyer and Director of Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms, was arrested at the State Security Prosecution premises in Cairo while he was attending an investigation session with his client Alaa Abdel Fattah, who had been arrested earlier in the morning of that same day.
Mohamed El-Baqer and Alaa Abdel Fattah were subsequently accused under Criminal Case 1356 of 2019 by State Security Prosecution and ordered 15 days of preventive detention under vague and unfounded charges that have been broadly used to criminalise all those that dare to defend human rights in Egypt: “belonging to a terrorist group”, “funding a terrorist group”, “spreading false news undermining national security” and “using social media to commit publishing offenses”.
Their place of detention remained unknown until October 1, 2019, when the prison authorities informed their families that they were detained in Tora High Security prison 2, which is known for its very poor conditions of detention.
One year on from their arrest, Mohamed El-Baqer and Alaa Abdel Fattah’s right to due process has been continuously violated through countless and unjustified renewals of their preventive detention by both the Supreme State Security Prosecution and Cairo Criminal Court.
While in prison both have been denied access to books, time in the prison yard, access to a radio, warm clothes during the winter, a mattress, and fresh air within their cells.
Moreover, on August 31, 2020, Mohamed El-Baqer was informed of new charges brought against him under a new criminal case, which include fabricated accusations of “joining an illegal organisation” and “being part of a criminal agreement with the purpose of committing a terrorist act from inside the prison”. The State Public Prosecution ordered 15 days of pre-trial detention against him.
The ongoing arbitrary detention of Mohamed El-Baqer and Alaa Abdel Fattah is part of a clear human rights crackdown which Egypt has been suffering from in recent years. Authorities have increasingly employed repressive tactics such as prolonged pre-trial detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and judicial harassment to silence all critical voices, including through unfounded investigations for national security and counter-terrorism related charges.
Our organisations recall that in the aftermath of the outbreak of popular protests across Egypt in September 2019, several other human rights defenders have been arrested, including women human rights defenders Mahienour El-Massry, Esraa Abdel Fattah and Solafa Magdy, who as of today all remain detained under similar trumped-up terrorism charges and spreading false news.
We the undersigned strongly condemn the ongoing arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Mohamed El-Baqer, Alaa Abdel Fattah, Mahienour El-Massry, Esraa Abdel Fattah, Solafa Magdy as well as other human rights defenders, which aim at punishing them for their legitimate human rights activities.
Given the poor detention conditions in the country’s detention facilities, the high risk of contracting COVID-19, and the totally unacceptable deprivation of their liberty, we reiterate our call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release them as well as all other human rights defenders arbitrarily detained in Egypt. We further urge the authorities to immediately put an end to the abusive use of anti-terrorism charges to criminalise human rights defenders in the country.
Signatories:
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
DIGNITY – Danish Institute Against Torture
EuroMed Rights
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Sep 28, 2020 | Events, News
Join this panel discussion with ICJ, the Tahrir Institute, and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Wednesday 30 September 2020, 13:00.
Targeting the Last Line of Defense:
Egypt’s attacks against lawyers
A Virtual Side Event to the Human Rights Council 45th Session
Wednesday 30 September 2020, 13:00 – 14:30 (Geneva time)
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) cordially invite you to join this online side event, including the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, this coming Wednesday.
The ICJ and TIMEP will present their joint report Targeting the last line of defense: Egypt’s attacks against lawyers. The report documents systematic targeting of lawyers through arbitrary arrests and detention, physical assaults, torture and enforced disappearances, as well as politicized criminal proceedings under counter-terrorism and other overbroad laws.
In the report, the ICJ and TIMEP call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately end their crackdown on lawyers and to unconditionally release all lawyers who are detained or convicted solely on the basis of the peaceful exercise of their human rights and/or the legitimate discharge of their professional duties.
Speakers:
- Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Saïd Benarbia, International Commission of Jurists
- Mai El-Sadany, The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy
Register for the event here:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8432589390374705675.
For more information contact: un(a)icj.org
Sep 25, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Today at the UN Human Rights Council, the ICJ together with the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, drew attention to ongoing attacks on the independence and role of lawyers in Egypt.
The ICJ made the oral statement during the general debate on country situations of concern, speaking on behalf also of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. The statement read as follows:
“The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy draw the Council’s attention to the continuing deterioration of the situation for human rights and the rule of law in Egypt.
Today our organizations published a new report, Targeting the Last Line of Defense: Egypt’s Attacks against Lawyers, to be followed by a virtual side event on 30 September.
As the last line of defense against the government’s sustained and broad crackdown on human rights and fundamental freedoms, Egypt’s lawyers have been increasingly and systematically targeted by authorities. Since 2018, at least 35 lawyers have been arrested and arbitrarily detained for their legal defense work and exercise of fundamental freedoms.
Lawyers have been subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, physical assault, torture and other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearances, as well as unfounded and politicized criminal proceedings based on charges under grossly overbroad criminal laws on “terrorism,” “spreading false news,” and “misusing social media.” Arrests of lawyers spiked in the wake of the September 2019 protests. Arrests continue despite the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak in detention facilities.
The ICJ and Tahrir Institute call on Egyptian authorities to end these violations of the rights and role of lawyers, to take measures to protect the independence of the Bar Association, and to amend all relevant legal frameworks in line with Egypt’s constitution and international human rights law and standards.
Thank you.”
The full statement can be downloaded (PDF) here: UN-Advocacy-Egypt-HRC45-2020
For more information, contact: un@icj.org
Sep 22, 2020 | Advocacy, News
States should help pave the way towards credible accountability and redress for the people of Yemen by renewing and strengthening international investigations into war crimes, other serious violations of international humanitarian law, and grave human rights abuses during this 45th Session of the HRC, the ICJ and 23 other organizations said today.
Yemen is suffering from an “acute accountability gap,” according to the UN Group of Eminent Experts (GEE) on Yemen, which released its third report on September 9, 2020.
With COVID-19 threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions across Yemen, peace talks floundering, and airstrikes, shelling and attacks impacting civilians once again increasing, the reality for millions of Yemeni civilians is growing ever more bleak.
This session, the Human Rights Council has the opportunity to pave the way towards credible accountability and redress for victims and survivors in Yemen.
People in Yemen have experienced grave abuses since the conflict began in 2014, when Ansar Allah (the Houthi armed group) and military units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh took control of the capital, Sana’a, and escalated in 2015 when the Saudi/UAE-led coalition militarily intervened on the side of the Yemeni government.
With the conflict in its sixth year, millions of Yemenis are without adequate food, water, shelter or healthcare. The parties to the conflict impede the flow of life-saving goods into and around the country, attack critical infrastructure, and misdirect goods and their revenues to their own coffers and loyalists.
Thousands of civilians have been killed, wounded and otherwise harmed by airstrikes that violate international humanitarian law, indiscriminate shelling and the use of banned anti-personnel landmines.
The societal fabric has torn, with expression, speech, peaceful protest and movement increasingly restricted, and political and other identity-based divisions weaponized by those in power.
The human rights and humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen is man-made, and was avoidable. The parties to the conflict continue to hold the vast majority of power in and over Yemen.
For Yemen’s trajectory to change, the behavior of the parties to the conflict and their backers needs to change. As of September 2020, perpetrators have gone unpunished, states responsible for violations have faced no real consequences, parties have rarely acknowledged fault or taken measures to protect civilians, suppliers keep the arms used for international humanitarian law violations, and victims have been denied justice and redress.
In 2017, the Council established the GEE to report on violations of international law in Yemen and, where possible, to identify those responsible. The Council renewed the GEE’s mandate in 2018 and 2019, despite opposition from the Saudi/UAE-led coalition.
In its third report, the UN experts found the international community “can and should” do more to “help bridge the acute accountability gap” in Yemen.
The experts provided a list of specific recommendations, including for the Security Council to refer the situation in Yemen to the International Criminal Court and to expand the list of persons subject to Security Council sanctions.
The GEE supported the establishment of an investigative body, similar to the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria, and specifically called on the Council to ensure the situation of human rights in Yemen remains on its agenda, including by ensuring adequate resources are provided to the GEE for the collection, preservation and analysis of information related to violations and crimes.
In the longer term, the Group encouraged “further dialogue about the creation of a special tribunal such as a ‘hybrid tribunal’ to prosecute cases of those most responsible,” reiterated the importance of victims’ right to a remedy, including reparations, and called for human rights to be “at the heart of any future peace negotiations,” including that “no steps are taken that would undermine respect for human rights and accountability, such as granting blanket amnesties.” 2
The GEE also reiterated concerns that states supplying arms to parties to the conflict, including to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, may be violating their obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty, and that this support may amount to aiding and assisting internationally wrongful acts.
Today, 24 Yemeni, regional, and international civil society organizations, including the ICJ, came together to call on the Council to endorse the GEE’s report, including its findings on accountability, and to take concrete steps this Council session to pave the way towards credible justice for Yemen.
The 24 organizations are calling on the Council to renew and strengthen the GEE’s mandate this September, including to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyze evidence related to, and clarify responsibility for, the most serious crimes under international law and violations of international law committed in Yemen since 2014.
The organizations are also calling on the Council to task the GEE with issuing a special report advising states on practical steps they can take to help ensure justice and redress for the tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians unlawfully harmed by the warring parties throughout this conflict.
