Court orders the release of Mr. Malek Adly, but prosecution appeals

Egypt

August26, 2016

The Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requestsyour urgent intervention in the following situation inEgypt.

New information:

TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the Court's decision to release Mr. Malek Adly, a human rights lawyerworking for the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) andco-funder of the Front of Defence for Egyptian Protesters (FDEP) who has been detained withoutformal charges and in solitary confinement in Mazraah Prison in Torah since May5, 2016.

Accordingto the information received, on August 25, 2016, the South Benha Criminal Courtordered the release without bail of Mr. Malek Adly, pending the outcome ofinvestigations. The prosecution appealed the court's decision and a reviewsession is set for August 27, 2016. Meanwhile, Mr. Malek Adly will remain inprison until the final decision.

The Observatory welcomes thedecision to release Malek Adly and requests the judicial authorities to upholdthe decision and immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Malek Adly.

The Observatory further urges theauthorities to drop all the charges against him and stop his harassment as itonly seems to merely aim at sanctioning his legitimate human rights activities.

Until Mr. Malek Adly is released, the Observatory further urges theauthorities to ensure that the proceedings and his conditions of detention arein compliance with international law standards.

Background information:

On May 5, 2016, Mr. Malek Adly wasarrested by the Egyptian Security Forces in Maadi, Cairo based on an arrestwarrant issued on April 23, 2016. The arrest warrant related to a call toprotest on April 25, 2016, condemning the recent government decision totransfer the sovereignty of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia (Tiran andSanafir) and against President Al Sissi's policies, human rights abuses andcrimes committed by the Egyptian security forces. On April 11, 2016, Mr. MalekAdly had also filed a lawsuit against such government’s decision on theislands.

Mr. Malek Adly was brought to Maadipolice station and questioned. During his interrogation, he was beaten, struckwith firearms, blindfolded and stripped of his shirt by police officers. He wasthen transferred to the Shubra Al-Khaimah public prosecution where he wasquestioned again for four hours from 3 am to 7 am.

On May 6, 2016, the prosecutorordered his detention for 15 days, pending investigation on several charges,including of “joining a group to obstruct the law”, “spreading false news”,“plotting to overthrow the government and alter the Egyptian Constitution”,“hindering the official duties of government institutions”, “promotingpublications that disrupt national unity”, “inciting the anti-governmentprotests that took place on April 25” and “using violence and force againstnational security agency officers”. The detention was extended several timesuntil August 25, 2016.

On June 28, 2016, the ECESR filed acomplaint against the Minister of Interior, Public Prosecutor, Head of Egypt'sPrison Authority and Officer of Mazraah Prison in Torah regarding Mr. MalekAdly’s poor detention conditions. Mr. Haitham Al-Harir, a member of Parliament,also filed several complaints to the Ministry of Interior regarding his conditionsof detention. The latest was filed on July 14.

On July 18, 2016, Mr. Malek Adly’slawyers requested the court to appoint an investigative judge for the case,arguing that the prosecution had committed several violations of the right todue process and fair trial. More particularly, Mr. Malek Adly’s lawyerscomplained that they had not received a formal copy of the court's case, thatthe court had refused to open an investigation for allegations of torture andill treatment during his detention, and that, on several occasions, theprosecution refused visit requests by the lawyers. Following the latest renewalof the detention, Mr. Malek Adly’s lawyers declared their withdrawal from theprosecution investigation session to protest violations of the right to a fairtrial by the prosecution committee.

Mr. Malek Adly is detained in a 6x8foot cell, without lighting or ventilation. He is unable to leave except forcourt sessions or visits with his wife and lawyers. Mr. Adly has also beendenied the right to furnish his cell with a bed and mattress, deprived of hisright to exercise and recreation, barred from visiting the prison library andmosque or receiving reading material. Though, Mr. Malek Adly is suffering fromhigh blood pressure and aching joints, he does not have access to medication ora doctor.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Egyptasking them to:

i. Guarantee in allcircumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Malek Adly,including by putting an end to all acts of torture and ill-treatment againsthim, as well as of all human rights defenders in Egypt;

ii. Releaseimmediately and unconditionally Mr. Malek Adly, as well as all human rightsdefenders currently in arbitrary detention, as it seems to only aim atcurtailing their human rights activities;

iii. Carry out animmediate, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into theallegations of torture and ill-treatment against Mr. Malek Adly, in order toidentify all those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, andsanction them as provided by the law;

iv. Put an end to the harassment -including at the judicial level - against Mr. Malek Adly, as well as againstall human rights defenders in Egypt;

v. Comply with all the provisions ofthe United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular withits Articles 1, 6(b)(c), and 12.2;

vi. Ensure in all circumstancesrespect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance withinternational human rights standards and international instruments ratified byEgypt.

Addresses:

· President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E. AbdelFattah el-Sisi, Fax: +202 23901998

· Prime Minister of Egypt, Mr. Sherif Ismail, Fax: +202 2735 6449 / 27958016. Email: primemin@idsc.gov.eg

· Minister of the Interior of Egypt, General MagdyAbdel Ghaffar, E-mail: moi1@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 2579 2031 / 2794 5529

· Minister of Justice of Egypt, Mr. Ahmed El Zend, E-mail:mojeb@idsc.gov.eg, Fax: +202 2795 8103

· Public Prosecutor, Counsellor Nabeel Sadek, Fax:+202 2577 4716

· Mr. Mohamed Fayeq, President of the National CouncilFor Human Rights, Fax: + 202 25747497 / 25747670. Email: nchr@nchr.org.eg

· H.E. Ms. Wafaa Bassim, Ambassador, Permanent Missionof 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 2675.58.88; Email: egyptembassy@embassyofegypt.be

Please also write to the diplomatic missionsor embassies of Egypt in your respective country.

***
Paris-Geneva, August 26, 2016

Kindly inform us of any action undertakenquoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders(the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and OMCT. The objective of this programme isto intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rightsdefenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.

To contact theObservatory, call the emergency line:

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