25 Jul 18 | Campaigns -- Featured, Egypt, Statements
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Leading human rights lawyers from Doughty Street Chambers have submitted a new complaint to the United Nations regarding Egypt’s treatment of Amal Fathy, the detained wife of a co-founder of the award-winning human rights group the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF).
Ms Fathy was arrested after posting a video criticising sexual harassment in Egypt – of which she herself is a victim – to Facebook. After a police raid of their home in the early hours of the morning Ms Fathy, her husband Mohamed Lotfy and their two-year-old son were taken to a police station. Mr Lotfy and their son were released several hours later, but Ms Fathy has been charged with membership of a terrorist organisation and other related charges and remains detained.
Ms Fathy is a communications student and former activist and actress who is active on social media, where she advocates and expresses her views on ongoing issues in Egypt especially on women’s rights.
The complaint to the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention, submitted jointly with ECRF and global freedom of expression campaigners Index on Censorship, argues that Ms. Fathy’s arbitrary detention is a clear violation of her right to freedom of expression, her right to liberty and her right to freedom from arbitrary detention.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC of Doughty Street Chambers said: “Amal Fathy has now been detained arbitrarily for 74 days, in unsanitary conditions, without meaningful access to her lawyers, and away from her family and young son. Egypt has failed to explain the legal basis for her continued detention, but it is clear that whatever the pretext, this is an inhumane and illegal punishment imposed simply because she and her husband have undertaken peaceful and legitimate campaigning on human rights issues. Amal Fathy spoke out about the rights of women; now the Egyptian authorities are silencing her by holding her in prison for months on end, with no proper legal basis.”
Mohamed Lotfy said “ECRF is alarmed by the unprecedented wave of arrests of Egyptian human rights defenders, and Amal is one them, which shows a new trend of violations in one of the worst crackdowns on civil society in Egypt. The most worrying aspect of these resent cases is that they were all referred to State Security Prosecution on totally irrelevant charges such as joining terrorists groups. These charges, if referred to court by the Prosecution, could lead to sever sentences of imprisonment.”
Perla Hinojosa, fellowships and advocacy officer at Index on Censorship said: “Index calls on Egyptian authorities to immediately release Amal Fathy. Freedom of expression should not be criminalised and the government’s continued attempts to silence activists and journalists through detention and the fear of detention is unwarranted.”
In May, Doughty Street — jointly with ECRF and Index on Censorship, lodged complaints with United Nations rapporteurs on freedom of expression and human rights defenders regarding Ms Fathy’s detention.
Mr Lotfy is one of the leaders of ECRF, which has played a key role in increasing awareness of enforced disappearances, censorship, torture and violations of freedom of expression and association in Egypt. This has resulted in frequent incidents of harassment, arrest and detention of staff. ECRF received an Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Campaigning Award in April 2018.
On July 15th, the Egyptian government enacted a controversial law which would monitor personal social media, blogs or websites with more than 5,000 followers. Authorities would have the power to block them if accused of publishing fake news, as interpreted by the government. This crackdown on activists and journalists limits and controls freedom of expression further.
The organisations have asked the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention to issue a finding that Ms Fathy’s detention is arbitrary and in violation of Egypt’s obligations under international law, and to call for her immediate release, and to ask Egypt to investigate her unlawful detention and to award her compensation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][three_column_post title=”Egypt” full_width_heading=”true” category_id=”147″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
18 Jun 18 | Campaigns -- Featured, Egypt, Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”100868″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Monday 18 June 2018 — Human rights groups expressed growing concern about Egyptian campaigner Amal Fathy and urged authorities to release her immediately.
Ms Fathy was seized by police on 11 May after posting a video about sexual harassment. Ms Fathy and her husband Mohamed Lotfy, co-founder of award-winning human rights group the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, had their Cairo home raided by armed police in the early hours of the morning, and she, Mr Lotfy and their two year-old son were taken to a police station.
Mr Lotfy and his son were released several hours later but Ms Fathy remains in custody, where her health is deteriorating. Her lawyer has reported that Ms Fathy, a communications student, is suffering panic attacks in detention. Initially detained for 15 days, Ms Fathy’s detention has twice been extended, with no date yet set for a hearing.
The trigger for the arrest was a 12-minute Facebook video in which Ms Fathy complained about having been sexually harassed at a bank and the difficulties of being a woman in Egypt. Ms Fathy has since been charged with membership of a terrorist organisation.
Mr Lotfy is one of the leaders of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, which coordinates campaigns for those who have been tortured or disappeared. Between August 2016 and August 2017, the ECRF documented 378 cases of enforced disappearance, many of them concerning students. In April 2018, ECRF was awarded an Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award.
Index on Censorship, together with international lawyers Doughty Street Chambers and ECRF, last month submitted a complaint on the treatment of Mr Lotfy and his son, and the continued detention of Ms Fathy, to the UN rapporteurs on freedom of expression and human rights defenders.
“We are seriously worried about Ms Fathy and the lack of due process in her case. This continued detention is already having a terrible impact on her own health not to mention that of her young son, for whom Ms Fathy is the primary carer,” said Index on Censorship CEO Jodie Ginsberg.
Egypt has seen an escalation in violence against women and prominent women human rights defenders and activists are routinely harassed and silenced by the authorities. A 2017 poll named Cairo as the most dangerous major city for women.
The organisations ask Egypt to release Ms Fathy immediately.
For more information, please contact Sean Gallagher at Index on Censorship: [email protected].
Signatories:
Article 19
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI)
Civicus
Doughty Street Chambers
Front Line Defenders
Index on Censorship
PEN International[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1571391767658-84d8abc6-2e8d-7″ taxonomies=”25926″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
24 May 18 | Campaigns -- Featured, Press Releases
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”100566″ img_size=”full”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”74586″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”88957″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”100560″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]International human rights lawyers Doughty Street Chambers have lodged a complaint to the United Nations on behalf of Egyptian campaigner Amal Fathy, her husband and their son after the family was seized by police.
Ms Fathy and her husband Mohamed Lotfy, co-founder of award-winning human rights group the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, were arrested by police in the early hours of May 11. Their Cairo apartment was raided by armed police, searched and Ms Fathy, Mr Lotfy and their two year-old son Zidane taken to a police station.
Mr Lotfy and Zidane were released several hours later but Ms Fathy remains in custody. The trigger for the arrests was said at the time to be a short 12-minute Facebook video posted by Ms Fathy in which she complained about having been sexually harassed at a bank and the difficulties of being a woman in Egypt. Ms Fathy has since been charged with membership of a terrorist organisation.
“Unfortunately, the case of Mr Lotfy, his son, and Ms Fathy, are not isolated, nor in many ways surprising,” said Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, one of the lawyers acting for the family. “Over the past several years, many Egyptian human rights defenders, bloggers and journalists have been subjected to state harassment, disproportionate police and judicial treatment, and arbitrary curtailment of their most fundamental rights.”
Ms Fathy is a communications student and former activist and actress who is active on social media, especially Facebook, where she advocates and expresses her views on ongoing issues in Egypt especially on women’s rights.
Mr Lotfy leads the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, which coordinates campaigns for those who have been tortured or disappeared. Between August 2016 and August 2017, the ECRF documented 378 cases of enforced disappearance, many of them concerning students.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC and Jonathan Price of Doughty Street Chambers have submitted their complaint on the treatment of Mr Lotfy and his son, and the continued detention of Ms Fathy, to the UN rapporteurs on freedom of expression and human rights defenders. The complaint has been lodged jointly with ECRF and freedom of expression organisation Index on Censorship, which in April awarded ECRF one of its Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowships.
“We have grave concerns given the inevitable lack of due process for Ms Fathy. We also have serious concerns for her wellbeing given the likelihood of prolonged detention, away from her young son, and for the wellbeing of Zidane himself, removed from his primary carer,” said Index on Censorship CEO Jodie Ginsberg.
Egypt has seen an escalation in violence against women and prominent women human rights defenders and activists are routinely harassed and silenced by the authorities. A 2017 poll named Cairo as the most dangerous major city for women.
The organisations have asked the rapporteurs to:
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- gather, request, receive and exchange information and communications from the Egyptian Government in relation to this case;
- publicly make concrete recommendations to the Egyptian authorities on their duty to adhere to their international obligations; and
- issue an opinion finding that Egypt has failed to adhere to its own obligations, and violated the rights of the complainants, under international law.
For more information, please contact Joy Hyvarinen at Index on Censorship: [email protected]. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”97988″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/04/campaigning-fellow-2018/”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms
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23 May 18 | Egypt, News and features
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”100519″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Prosecutors have ordered Egyptian activist Amal Fathy to remain in detention for 15 days on charges of “inciting against the state, using social media to spread fake news and defaming Egypt.”
On 11 May the 33 year-old pro-democracy online activist was arrested alongside her husband Mohamed Lotfy, founder and executive director of the 2018 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award- winning Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, an Egyptian rights watchdog, in a pre-dawn raid on the couple’s home.
The arrests came two days after Fathy, a third-year Mass Communication student at Cairo University and a former actress and model, posted a video lambasting the government for its failure to end sexual harassment, which remains widespread despite a 2014 law that criminalises the behaviour. In the 11-minute clip posted on her Facebook page, Fathy also criticised Egyptian authorities for “the deteriorating socio-economic conditions and public services in the country”.
While her husband was released after three hours, Fathy was ordered held and remains in custody pending investigations by State Security Prosecutors in case no. 261 of 2018 in which several other young pro-reform activists face a host of accusations including “joining an outlawed group to disrupt state institutions, spread fake news and undermine trust in the Egyptian state.”
The crackdown continues to gather pace. This morning, 23 May 2018, human rights activist and blogger Wael Abbas was arrested at dawn from his home in Cairo, according to a post he made on Facebook.
Shadi Ghazali Harb, a prominent leader of the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, is another government critic that has been arrested in the case. He was summoned by prosecutors on 15 May for investigation on charges of insulting president Abdel Fattah El Sisi and spreading false news in relation to tweets he had posted criticising the government over recent increases in metro fares.
“At a time when people don’t know how they’ll cope with the next wave of price hikes that started with the metro fares, Sisi is inspecting the new administrative capital and is racing against time to build a wall to isolate himself and his cronies from the people. Can he actually finish it before the next eruption of mass protests?” Harb tweeted on 11 May.
Days earlier, comedian Shady Abu Zaid, who produces an online satirical show called The Rich Content, was arrested at his home and was forcibly disappeared for 24 hours before resurfacing at State Security Headquarters. Abu Zaid has a large following on social media networks since posting a prank-video two years ago that showed him distributing condom-balloons among security forces in Tahrir Square on the anniversary of the January 25 uprising. He too faces charges of joining an outlawed group and disseminating fake news, according to his lawyer Azza Soliman. Analysts say the incarceration of the young activists “signals a new wave of repression targeting Egypt’s youth revolutionaries with the aim of intimidating and silencing dissenters.”
Fathy’s video drew mixed reactions in Egypt meanwhile, with security sources and pro-government media accusing her of “insulting Egypt” and “inciting against the state”. State-run media outlets which have slipped back into their old habit of serving as government propaganda mouthpieces, identified her as a member of the April 6 Movement, the youth group that mobilised protesters ahead of the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak. The group has been persistently vilified by the pro-government media with several TV talk show hosts branding its members as “traitors” and “foreign agents” after the movement was outlawed by court order in April 2014.
Egyptian and international rights groups however, have denounced Fathy’s detention with Amnesty International calling the move “a new low in Egypt’s crackdown on freedom of expression.” Nine Egyptian rights groups have signed an online petition published by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies on 14 May, describing Fathy’s detention as “state retribution for exercising her right to free speech” and calling for the activist’s immediate release.
The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms which signed the petition, said it was the actual target of Fathy’s arrest as the organisation has “continuously suffered persecution at the hands of Egyptian security agencies,” and its management has “frequently been the target of state harassment,” ECRF said in a statement published on its Facebook page on 12 May, a day after Fathy’s arrest.
The ECRF’s Giza office was raided by security officers in plainclothes in October 2016 ; the men searched the office without presenting a search warrant and threatened to close it down. Lotfy, who previously worked as a researcher for Amnesty International before founding the ECRF, was banned from travelling in June 2015 and had his passport confiscated. The rights watchdog works on documenting cases that are particularly touchy for the government such as enforced disappearances and torture in prisons. [/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”99421″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/04/campaigning-fellow-2018/”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:24|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2018%2F04%2Fcampaigning-fellow-2018%2F|||”][vc_column_text]ECRF is one of the few human rights organisations still operating in a country which has waged an orchestrated campaign against independent civil society groups. Find out more about the 2018 Freedom of Expression Awards Campaigning Fellow.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]The government’s malpractices have become so rampant under the Sisi regime that they were described in a September 2017 Human Rights Watch report as “an epidemic of abuses.” The in-depth report sparked government outrage after it alleged that President Sisi had given national security officers the green light to use to use torture with impunity—a charge that has been vehemently denied by Egyptian government officials. Basing its findings on research by Egyptian rights groups including documentation of rights violations in Egyptian prisons by ECRF lawyers, the report cited such techniques as an “assembly line” of beatings, electric shocks, stress positions and sometimes rape by security forces that HRW said “could amount to crimes against humanity.” In a similar damning report published by the ECRF some months earlier, the organisation claimed it had received 830 complaints in 2016 with torture being practised to force suspects to confess or divulge information. It also said it had documented nearly 400 cases of enforced disappearances between August 2016 and the same month in 2017.
The fact that ECRF’s lawyers are also acting as legal consultants for Guilio Regeni’s family has only served to further provoke the ire of the Egyptian authorities. The case of the slain Italian researcher who went missing in Cairo before his badly-mutilated corpse was found in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo in February 2015 has embarrassed the government in Cairo, causing a rift between Egypt and Italy and prompting the latter to recall its ambassador. This, after investigations revealed that the Cambridge post-graguate student who had been researching the country’s independent trade unions—a topic of great sensitivity for the government—had been tortured before his death.
Rights lawyer Ibrahim Metwally, who was helping investigate Regeni’s murder and had been monitoring enforced disappearances , has been held behind bars since September 2017 in reportedly “appalling conditions” after he himself was forcibly disappeared for three days.
Since 2014, Egyptian human rights defenders have borne the brunt of a brutal government crackdown on peaceful dissent. Their suffering has been made all the worse by the passing of a 2017 NGO law, slammed as “draconian” and “restrictive” by international rights groups. Dozens of rights groups face prosecution in the so-called “NGO foreign funding case,” reopened by the authorities in March 2016, on charges of “receiving foreign funding to sow chaos.” Several rights organisations have had their assets frozen and have had travel bans imposed on their directors and staffers. ECRF is no exception. One of the last few remaining independent rights organizations still operating in the country –despite the restrictive environment — the ECRF was the recipient of the 2018 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Campaigning Award. Despite the recognition, its staffers remain under threat. The organisation sees Fathy’s arrest as setting a new “precedent in the practices used by security agencies to hamper the work of human rights organizations.”
It also perceives Fathy’s prosecution as “a warning message” ahead of a planned visit to Cairo next week by Italian prosecutors to review video footage captured by security cameras in the metro station where Regeni disappeared on January 25, 2016.
“It is shameful that this is how the security authorities choose to deal with ECRF one week before the Italian technical visit to Egypt ,” ECRF wrote in the 12 May statement posted on its Facebook page.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]24/5/2018: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to a September 2019 Human Rights Watch report. The report dates from September 2017.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1527174085953-a3c45a99-4868-10″ taxonomies=”24135″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
