Arbitrary detention and judicial harassment of Ms. Mahienour El Massry

EGY 006 / 1217 / OBS 120

Arbitrary detention /

Judicialharassment

Egypt
December 22, 2017

The Observatory for the Protectionof Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation AgainstTorture (OMCT) and the FIDH, requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in Egypt.

Description of the situation:

The Observatory has beeninformed by reliable sources about the arbitrary detention and judicialharassment of Ms. Mahienour El Massry,human rights lawyer known for her activism in favour of judicial independenceand prisoners’ rights by organising peaceful protests, support activities forpolitical prisoners and using social media to denounce human rights violations.

According to theinformation received, on November 18, 2017, the Misdemeanor Montaza Court inAlexandria ordered the detention of Ms. Mahienour El-Massry pending trial, inrelation to the protests against the Tiran and Sanafeer land agreement in June2017[1],which has resulted in the arrest of 60 activists throughout the country[2].She is accused of “participating in an unauthorized protest”, “insulting thePresident” and thuggery. The next hearing is scheduled on December 30, 2017.

On December 16, 2017,Ms. Mahienour El-Massry’s family went to visit her in Qanater El KhayereyaWomen’s Prison in Cairo. There, they were told that she had been deported toDamanhour prison, which is closer to Alexandria.

Thus, on December 17,2017, Ms. Mahienour El-Massry’s family went to Damanhour prison to visit her.They reported that Ms. Mahienour El-Massry had been in a put in a “waitingroom” since her transfer. The waiting room was reportedly overcrowded and Ms. MahienourEl-Massry was prevented from eating, drinking or using the toilet. In addition,as the decision to transfer her to Damanhour prison was very sudden, Ms. MahienourEl-Massry was unable to pack all her needs when she left Qanater prison.

The Observatory recallsthat Egyptian authorities have a long history of harassing and detaining Ms. MahienourEl-Massry. Already, in January 2014, she wassentenced to 2 years in jail for exercising her right to peacefully protestagainst police violence. Her sentence was reduced in appeal to six months[3].

Arrested again on May11, 2015, the El Raml Misdemeanour Court of Appeal in Alexandria sentenced heron May 31, 2015, to one year and three months in jail with another lawyer andeight activists for “assaulting security forces”. This relates to an incidentthat occurred in March 2013, when they went to Raml police station to providelegal assistance to three activists. From Qanater women’s prison, she started ahunger strike with six other detainees on July 28, 2016, to protest against thedenial of family visits in prison. After serving the fifteen-month prisonsentence, Mahienour El-Massry was released on August 13, 2016[4].

The Observatory stronglycondemns the arbitrary detention of Ms. Mahienour El-Massry, her judicialharassment, which are part of a wider trend of repression against her and otherhuman rights defenders in Egypt.

The Observatory callsupon Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release her and toput an end to all forms of harassment, including at the judicial level againsther, as they are clearly aimed at hindering her peaceful and legitimate humanrights activities and in the meantime to guarantee her physical andpsychological integrity and her right to a fair trail.

Actionsrequested:

Please write to theauthorities of Egypt asking them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical andpsychological integrity of Ms. Mahienour El-Massry;

ii. Immediately and unconditionally release Ms.Mahienour El-Massry and all human rights defenders detained in Egypt;

iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment, including at thejudicial level against Ms. Mahienour El-Massry andall human rights defenders in Egypt;

iv. In the meantime, guarantee the right of a fair trial and adue process of Ms. Mahienour El-Massry;

v. Refrain from further hindering the right to freedom ofassociation, peaceful assembly and expression in Egypt;

vi. Conform with the provisions of the UNDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of theUnited Nations on December 9, 1998, especially Articles 1, 6(c) and 12.2; and

vii. More generally, ensure in all circumstances therespect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional humanrights instruments ratified by Egypt.

Addresses:

· President of the Arab Republic of Egypt,H.E. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Fax: +202 2391 1441
Email: p.spokesman@op.gov.eg, Twitter:@AlsisiOfficial
· Prime Minister, Mr. Sherif Ismail. Fax: +202 2735 6449 / 27958016.

· Minister of the Interior, Mr.Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar, Fax: +202 2579 2031 / 2794 5529

· Ministerof Justice, Mohamed Hossam Abdel-Rahim, Fax: +202 2795 8103 


· Ministerof Social Solidarity, Ghada Waly, Fax: +202 3337 5390
· Public Prosecutor, Counsellor NabeelSadek, Fax: +202 2577 4716
· Mr. Mohamed Fayeq, President of theNational Council For Human Rights, Fax: + 202 25747497 / 25747670. Email: nchr@nchr.org.eg

· H.E.Mr. Amr Ramadan, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nationsin Geneva, Email: mission.egypt@ties.itu.int, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15

· Embassyof Egypt in Brussels, Fax: +32 2 675.58.88; Email: embassy.egypt@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Egypt in yourrespective country.

***

Geneva-Paris,December 22, 2017

Kindly informus of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 bythe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the FIDH. The objective ofthis programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repressionagainst human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, theEuropean Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by internationalcivil society.

To contact the Observatory, call theemergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

[1] The Egyptian House of Representatives voted on June14, 2017, to ratify a maritime agreement that would place the islands of Tiranand Sanafeer under Saudi control. In the wake of the Parliament’s decision,protests erupted throughout several governorates of the country. On June 20,2017, Egypt’s highest constitutional court stopped the transfer agreement.

[2] See the Observatory’s Urgent Appeals EGY 001 / 0617 /OBS 066 published on June 20, 2017 and EGY 002 / 0617 / OBS 070 published onJune 26, 2017.

[3] See the Observatory’s Urgent Appeal EGY 001 / 0514 /OBS 045.8 published on September 30, 2015.

[4] See the Observatory’s Urgent Appeal EGY 001 / 0514 /OBS 045.9 published on September 8, 2017.