Arbitrary detention, release on bail and judicial harassment against Ms. Esraa Fehead and Mr. Mahmoud Naguib

EGY 002 / 0617 / OBS 070

Arbitrary detention / Release on bail

Judicial harassment

Egypt
June 26, 2017

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of theWorld Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the FIDH, requests your urgentintervention in the following situation in Egypt.

Description of the situation:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the arbitrary arrest, detention,release on bail and judicial harassment of Ms. Esraa Fehead, Founder and Executive Director of Horeya for HumanRights Organization in Port Said and a member of the Regional Coalition forWomen Human Rights Defenders in MENA as well as of Mr. Mahmoud Naguib, a former member of the April 6 Youth Movement[1].

Accordingto the information received, on June 14, 2017, Ms. Fehead was arrested in frontof the Governorate Administration Building in Port Said, at the same time as Mr.Mahmoud Naguib. They were both heldin detention and Ms. Fehead was interrogated by the Port Said Prosecution fromJune 15 to June 18, 2017. She was subsequently charged with numerous offensesincluding: “inciting demonstrations”, “disrupting public andgeneral security”, “disrupting production and citizens’ welfare”, “affectingpublic governmental facilities”, “blocking roads and transportation”,“disrupting traffic”, “attacking people and private and public possessions, andsubjecting them to danger”.

On June 18,2017, Ms. Fehead and Mr. Naguib were released on abail of EGP 10000 (approx. 495 EUR).

Their arrests coincide with the June 14,2017, peaceful protests opposing the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir Islands toSaudi Arabia[2], that have resulted in the arrest of 60activists throughout the country[3], including Ms. Fafead and Mr. Naguib. Manyof those arrested were forcibly removed from the street or their homes, whilesecurity forces used excessive force to disperse demonstrators.

The Observatory condemns the arbitrarydetention of Ms. Fehead and Mr. Naguib, as they appeared to be linked to theirhuman rights activities, and consequently urgesEgyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally drop the chargesagainst Ms. Fehead and Mr. Mahmoud Naguib.

The Observatory voices its growing concernover the excessive use force and arbitrary arrests against human rightsdefenders exercising their freedoms of speech and peaceful assembly.

ActionsRequested:

Please write to Egyptian authorities asking them to:

i. Immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against Ms. Fehead andMr. Naguib as well as all human rights defenders in Egypt;

ii. Put an end to all acts of harassment, including at thejudicial level, against Ms. Fehead and Mr. Mahmoud Naguib as well as againstall human rights defenders in Egypt;

iii. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human RightsDefenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9,1998, especially Articles 1, 6(c) and 12.2;

iv. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rightsand fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of HumanRights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified byEgypt.

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.

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

· Minister ofJustice, Mohamed Hossam Abdel-Rahim, Fax: +202 2795 8103 


· Minister ofSocial 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. Ms. WafaaBassim, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations in Geneva,Email: mission.egypt@ties.itu.int, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15

· Embassy ofEgypt 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, June 26, 2017

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quotingthe code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme is tointervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights DefendersMechanism implemented by international civil society.

To contactthe Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

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

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

[1] TheApril 6 Youth Movement is an Egyptian activist groupestablished in Spring 2008 to support the workers in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, anindustrial town, who were planning to strike in April 2008. Their core concerns include free speech,nepotism in government and social justice.

[2] The Egyptian House ofRepresentatives voted on June 14, 2017, to ratify a maritime agreement thatwould place the islands of Tiran and Sanafir under Saudi control. In the wakeof the Parliament’s decision, protests erupted throughout several governoratesof the country. On June 20, 2017, Egypt’s highest constitutional court stoppedthe transfer agreement.

[3] See the Observatory’s Urgent Appeal EGY 001 / 0617 / OBS 066 published on June 20, 2017.