Assault and intimidation acts against Mr. Mohamed Bayoumi

August 19, 2008

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention regarding the following situation in Egypt.

Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources of the assault and intimidation acts against Mr. Mohamed Bayoumi, a representative of the Association for Human Rights and Legal Aid (AHRLA) and an Egyptian lawyer, due to his defence of Mrs. Awleel, a Sudanese refugee in Egypt, who was assaulted and raped by two Egyptian police officers. Last April, the Egyptian Criminal Court issued a 25 year prison sentence to the officer who committed the rape.

According to the information received, during the last two months, Mr. Bayoumi has been subjected to numerous acts of violence and intimidation and his family has been harassed through the connections of, or directly by, accused Egyptian police officer. Thus, in July 2008, Mr. Bayoumi was offered L.E 50,000 by the police officer in order to cancel the claim against him, but Mr. Bayoumi refused the bribe. Two weeks ago, on August 2, 2008, he was stopped in the street by relatives of the police officer who beat his leg and stole the case file of Mrs. Awleel. Mr. Bayoumi was able to get a copy of the file from the court.

On August 13, 2008, Mr. Bayoumi’s family received a phone call at 2 a.m. claiming that he had been shot dead in the street and that his body was in the hospital morgue. They received this misleading phone call twice that night. Mr. Bayoumi’s partner in the case, Mr. Mohsen, received the same phone call at his family home. Mr. Mohsen also received a call from the accused officer’s wife stating: “Tell Mr. Mohamed Bayoumi to end this case now”.

The Observatory is deeply concerned about the intimidation and harassment acts directed at Mr. Bayoumi, and fears fears that these acts are only intended to intimidate and prevent him from carrying out his human rigths activities.

The Observatory also recalls that according to Article 12.2 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”.

Action requested:

Please write to the Egyptian authorities to urge them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Mohamed Bayoumi, his relatives and colleagues;
2. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned threats and acts of intimidation, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;
3. Put an end to the harassment against all human rights defenders in Egypt;
4. Conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular its Articles 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the [...] Declaration”;
5. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Egypt.

Addresses:

• President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, Abedine Palace, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: webmaster@presidency.gov.eg, Fax: +202 390 1998
• Prime Minister Mr. Ahmed Mahmoud Mohamed Nazif, Magles El Shaab Street, Kasr El Aini Street, Cairo, Egypt. Fax: + 202 735 6449 / 7958016. Email: primemin@idsc.gov.eg
• Minister of the Interior, General Habib Ibrahim Habib El Adly, Ministry of the Interior, El-Sheikh Rihan Street, Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: moi1@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 579 2031 / 794 5529
• Minister of Justice, Mr. Mamdoh Mohie E-din Marie, Ministry of Justice, Magles El Saeb Street, Wezaret Al Adl, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail: mojeb@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 795 8103
• Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Maher Abd al-Wahid, Dar al-Qadha al-Ali, Ramses Street, Cairo, Egypt, Fax: +202 577 4716
• National Council For Human Rights, Fax: + 202 5747497 / 5747670
• Ambassador Sameh Shoukry, 49 avenue Blanc, 1202 Genève, Switzerland, Email: mission.egypt@ties.itu.int, Fax: +41 22 738 44 15
• Embassy of Egypt in Brussels, 19 avenue de l’Uruguay, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 675.58.88; Email: embassy.egypt@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic representatives of Egypt in your respective countries

Geneva-Paris, August 19, 2008

Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply. The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel and fax FIDH: +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT: (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29

Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org