EGY 003 / 0518 / OBS 069

Arbitrary detention /

Judicial harassment

Egypt

May 23, 2018

The Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in Egypt.

Description of the situation:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary detentionof Mr. Haytham Mohamadein, labour lawyer and a member of El-Nadim Centre for the Rehabilitationof Victims of Violence, an Egyptian NGO dedicated to combating torture andproviding medical and legal aid in support of victims of human rights' abuses.

According to the information received, on May 18, 2018, just beforedawn, members of the police and National Security Agency assailed Mr. HaythamMohamadein’s home in El Saf in Giza Governorate and arrested him. No warrantwas presented to him.

Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was detained in an unknown location until heappeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in New Cairo's TagammuEl-Khamis District on May 19, 2018. On this day, the prosecutor ordered a15-day detention period pending an investigation on charges of "aiding aterrorist organisation to achieve its goals" and "calling for illegalprotests". These charges stem from the Prosecution’s allegations of Mr. HaythamMohamadein’s participation in protests over the rise in metro fares on May 12,2018, although he did not take part in the protests.

On May 19, 2018, Mr. Haytham Mohamadein was transferred to the CentralSecurity Forces Camp "Kilo 10.5", which is located on theCairo-Alexandria desert road.

The Observatory recalls that this is not the first time Mr. HaythamMohamadein is targeted by the Egyptian authorities for his legitimate andpeaceful human rights activities as he was detained on at least two differentoccasions in the past, the latter from April to October 2016, on charges of "joininga banned group, participating in an illegal protest and plotting the overthrowof the ruling government".

Thus, the Observatory urges the Egyptian authorities to immediately andunconditionally release Mr. Haytham Mohamadein as his detention is arbitraryand only aims at silencing his human rights work. Indeed, Mr. HaythamMohamadein’s arrest and detention occur in a wider trend of harassment andarbitrary detentions against human rights defenders in Egypt, where authoritieshave been cracking down on nearly all independent human rights organisations.Since the beginning of 2018, the Observatory has documented the arbitrarydetention of several human rights defenders, including of Ms. Amal Fathy on May 11, 2018[1].

The Observatory further urges the Egyptian authorities to put an end toall forms of harassment against Mr. Haytham Mohamadein and to ensure humanrights defenders in Egypt are able to carry out their legitimate and peacefulhuman rights work without fear of hindrance or reprisals.

Actions requested:

Pleasewrite to the authorities of Egypt asking them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical andpsychological integrity of Mr. Haytham Mohamadein, and all human rights defenders in Egypt;

ii. Immediately andunconditionally release Mr. Haytham Mohamadein as his detention is arbitrary and merelyaimed at punishing him for his human rights activities;

iii. Put an end to all actsof harassment, including at the judicial level, Mr.Haytham Mohamadein and all human rightsdefenders in Egypt, and ensure that they are able to carry out theiractivities without hindrance or fear of reprisals;

iv. Conform with theprovisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially Articles1, 6(c) and 12.2; and

v. More generally, ensurein all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms inaccordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and withinternational and regional human rights instruments ratified by Egypt.

Addresses:

· President of the Arab Republic ofEgypt, 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. MagdiAbdel-Ghaffar, Fax: +202 2579 2031 / 2794 5529

· Minister of Justice, Mohamed HossamAbdel-Rahim, Fax: +202 2795 8103 


· Minister of Social Solidarity, GhadaWaly, 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 Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Email:mission.egypt@ties.itu.int, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15

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

Pleasealso write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Egypt in your respectivecountry.

***

Geneva-Paris,May 23, 2018

Kindlyinform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in yourreply.

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) wascreated in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. Theobjective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations ofrepression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both membersof ProtectDefenders.eu,the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.

Tocontact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax OMCT + 4122 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

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

[1] See the Observatory’sUrgent Appeals EGY 002 / 0518 / OBS 059, published on May 12, 2018 and EGY 002/ 0518 / OBS 059.1 published on May 14, 2018. @font-face { font-family: "Wingdings";}@font-face { font-family: "MS Mincho";}@font-face { font-family: "MS Gothic";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: "Calibri";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria";}@font-face { font-family: "@MS Gothic";}@font-face { font-family: "@MS Mincho";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }h1 { margin: 24pt 0cm 0.0001pt; page-break-after: avoid; font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; color: rgb(52, 90, 138); }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }span.MsoFootnoteReference { vertical-align: super; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: rgb(149, 79, 114); text-decoration: underline; }span.Heading1Char { font-family: "Calibri", sans-serif; color: rgb(52, 90, 138); font-weight: bold; }span.FooterChar { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }span.HeaderChar { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }span.FootnoteTextChar { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; }span.apple-converted-space { }span.msoins0 { }span.ww-lieninternet0 { }span.lienhypertexte1 { }span.ww-lieninternet { }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Cambria", serif; }div.WordSection1 { }ol { margin-bottom: 0cm; }ul { margin-bottom: 0cm; }